Kill me Heal me
by Zheraaa
Summary: "Love?" he laughed humorlessly. "Are you fucking kidding me!" Jellal screamed. He looked rabid. It was killing her and yet he seemed to be the best healer, remedy to her bleeding heart. "You're my first." She whispered, desperately trying to stop the tears from falling. modern/musical AU
1. Chapter 1 I Need U

**A/N; Hi! I'm back with a new Jerza fic! 'Kill me. Heal me'' is a modern/musical AU. I hope I get as much support as I get for Senshi no Seishin. And speaking of my other story, I won't abandon it! No way! Hell! I love that story way too much to discontinue it. So Hakuunaa matataaa~. I've been watching Lion King. LOL! Haha anyways…**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Before that, I'd like to thank crimson-sana-oneechan for helping me out with the names of the bands and giving me ideas. You were a giant help! Thanks!**

Kill me. Heal me.

Chapter-1 ~I need U~

* * *

She was running. Very fast. As far as her slim legs would carry her. She needed to get away. Right now. If she fails, if she falls behind, they'll kill her. And to her dismay, the rain was pouring down like there was no tomorrow. Looking up at the sky, it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon.

She needed shelter. She can't live in people's basement forever. They will find her eventually. She gasped loudly when she heard a gun fire and her pace quickened, her reverie broken as she saw the bullet fly past her, almost grazing her shoulder. _Almost_. Shoulder length scarlet hair clung on to her face and neck as she climbed onto a bus that was ready to depart, losing the sight of the men chasing her.

Erza, her name was. That was the only thing she knew. Her name. She was only seven when she was basically thrown out onto the streets of Paris, with no memories of whom her parents were or if she even had any with the occasional hum of a song that was engraved into her mind though there were no lyrics to it. Maybe she just couldn't remember it. She struggled, being chased by the thugs every now and then. For the sake of surviving, she began gambling and maybe it was the heaven helping a parentless, homeless orphan that she won every time. And luckily enough, she was able to educate herself, get barely enough clothes and barely, sometimes no food to eat. And when night fell, those who lost to her in the game came chasing her, in a bloodlust to kill, demanding their money back. Saying that she cheated. Saying every excuse they could come up with just to deny that they lost to a little girl. But she wasn't a little girl anymore.

She was nineteen now. And she was eternally grateful for being able to gain a scholarship from abroad. At least, running until her feet were sore and numb would stop. She would get a place to sleep. A safe place, perhaps, though the scholarship only provided her with a traveling ticket and all the fees that were related to college.

 _I wonder what this Japan is like…_

The bus stopped and she got out, still lost in her thoughts. She stopped to warm her bare arms when a cold breeze brushed past her, making goose bumps rise all over her body; she looked at her feet, and saw that her shoes were missing. That was ok; she could find a new one. Maybe something that was not tattered. With a sigh, she looked up and saw a cloudless, starry sky with the moon shining bright most. It looked as if the heavy rain didn't even occur but the wetness of the roads and her dripping clothes were proof enough.

The river glistened under the moon's shimmering light and she leaned forward, against the railing, that tune she had known since she could remember flowing out her lips. She knew this place very well. The Eiffel tower was just right up ahead, standing in all its pride and glory. She could see the skyline of Paris, clean and clear.

She was at the Pont des Arts Bridge. A place she frequented to sort out her thoughts.

With a sigh, she turned around, the road in front of her looked welcoming and she had no home tonight. If she go back to the basement she had secretly been living in, there was zero to no chance that she'd be safe going back. She might as well search some place to stay until her flight early tomorrow morning.

She didn't know where she was going but the city seemed to be getting crowded and the noises were increasing tenfold. She looked up with a glare when someone bumped into her but the person could care less about her as she walked past her without even apologizing. Erza growled.

"Where are they?!" a girl demanded in French and Erza winced at the volume. "I want to go too!" she whined.

Erza just stared blankly at the girl about her age, wondering why she's acting like a five-year old.

"It's the _Ryusei's_ last show tonight!" another shouted from somewhere near her.

 _Ryusei_ , she heard that name being mentioned every now and then before, graduating high school and even after that. She even heard them on radios but she had no idea who they were or what they do to make these girls all around her and a few boys go all giddy and excited.

And before she knew it, she was swept through a small door like a piece of paper among the crowd who rushed through. She didn't know how she could get out wherever she was being shoved into. She had lost all her energy in running away from those thugs the people she gambled with had hired.

"Hurry up before the guard check us for tickets!" someone beside her hissed loudly when the small crowd came to a stop.

And that was when Erza knew that these people were sneaking in. to where, she didn't know.

When they stopped for the second time, they all scattered to seats all over the monstrous place. She looked in awe. There were bright lights lit up all around *Stade de France and there was a large stage prepared on the grass and two large screens on either side and one a meter smaller in the middle of the stage and she knew the place was ready for a concert.

"Must be _Ryusei_ …" she mumbled to herself and leaned against the wall beside the door where people, mostly teenagers swarmed in.

This, a stage that is filled, was one of her ambitions in life. She wanted to stand proud on one of those stages and sing and dance to the extent she was capable of and beyond.

It was late and she wanted to rest. The day was tiring. She was just about to turn and leave when the lights turned off and in turn, the ones on the stage lit up giving the view of the host. She was curious and being a musician herself, studied at the music and arts school, she decided to stay and watch. It was _music_ , after all. Something that beat in her blood.

"*Bonne soiree, ladies and gentlemen of this beautiful city!" The man with orange hair spoke excitedly in English, his voice booming throughout the stadium via that mike he was holding.

"Are you ready…" he paused and the larger two screens displayed him while the middle one remained blank. Everything was beautifully organized.

Erza frowned when the man smiled. A bit evilly.

"Are you ready for _Ryusei_?!" he shouted into the mike and the audience roared, 'yes'.

"I can't hear you!" he cupped one hand over his ear with a smirk. "Are you?"

"YES!" the redhead was sure the stadium shook and she really couldn't understand the excitement.

"Well…" she turned her gaze back to the host when he spoke up again. "The moment you've been waiting for is finally HERE!" he raised a hand and then pointed his index finger towards the large and crazy audience.

" _Ryusei_ is HERE!"

The audience went wild shouting their heads off and the lights turned off again. And then, the middle screen lightened up, displaying a scope.

The music began, dominating the area and the scope in the middle screen danced to the rhythm, changing shapes.

 _Fall fall fall, scattering apart_

 _Fall fall fall falling_

She could see the silhouette of five people lying in a circle on the floor. A figure sat up and the spotlight was immediately on him. He was handsome. None like she had ever seen in her 19 years of life. His hair was blonde and his body was well-built. He was taller than the other four. His voice was manly and strong as he rapped the first verse.

 _Because of you, I'm becoming ruined_

 _I wanna stop, I don't want you anymore_

 _I can't do it, this sucks_

 _Please don't give me any excuses_

His voice was filled with emotion she didn't know existed and the next one, with black hair and piercings sat up rapping, she was left speechless.

 _You can't do this to me_

 _All of the things you said are like a mask_

 _It hides the truth and rips me apart_

 _It pierces me, I'm going crazy, I hate this_

 _Take it all away, I hate you_

After the dark haired man's verse, all of them stood up as the choreography slowly began. The next person to sing was a blue haired teen. His voice was baritone and flawless and it was as if he was born to be a singer.

 _But you're my everything you're my_

 _Everything (you're my-others)_

 _Everything (you're my-others)_

 _Please go away(Laxus)_

 _I'm sorry I hate you_

 _I love you I hate you_

 _Forgive me_

He looked like he was the lead vocalist while the blonde looked like he was the main rapper.

 _I need you girl_

 _Why am I in love alone, why am I hurting alone?_

 _I need you girl_

 _Why do I need you when I know I'll get hurt?_

 _I need you girl, you're beautiful_

 _I need you girl, you're so cold_

 _I need you girl I need you girl_

 _I need you girl I need you girl_

And their choreography began in strong spirits and swift movements. It was the most flawless and professional dance steps she ever saw. She had seen songs and dances while passing by shops and her own schoolmates but this group, compared to them was beyond all boundaries she thought existed even in music.

The black haired guy with piercings took over again.

 _It goes round and round, why do I keep coming back_

 _I go down and down, at this point I'm just a fool_

 _Whatever I do, I can't help it_

The black haired guy continued with another dark haired guy, though his passed more for navy blue, who looked as handsome as the rest.

 _It's definitely my heart, my feelings but why don't they listen to me_

 _I'm just talking to myself again, talking to myself again_

 _I'm just talking to myself again, talking to myself again_

 _You're not saying anything, please, I'll treat you well_

 _But the sky is blue, the sky is blue_

And then, a pastel pink haired guy, handsome just like his band mates began singing. They all could pass for visuals of their bands though she didn't know who represented more in the beauty category.

 _The sky is blue and sun is shining_

 _So my tears are even more noticeable_

 _Why is it you? Why did it have to be you?_

 _Why can't I leave you?_

Again, the blue-haired guy took over and this time Erza noticed his emerald eyes shining with emotion as he sang and a red tattoo running down on the side of his face. They were all in perfect sync when singing the chorus.

 _I need you girl_

 _Why am I in love alone, why am I hurting alone?_

 _I need you girl_

 _Why do I need you when I know I'll get hurt?_

 _I need you girl, you're beautiful_

 _I need you girl, you're so cold_

 _I need you girl I need you girl_

 _I need you girl I need you girl_

 _Girl, just tell me you wanna break up_

 _Girl, just tell me it wasn't love_

 _I have no courage to say that_

 _Give me my last gift_

 _So I can't ever go back to you again_

 _I need you girl_

 _Why am I in love alone, why am I hurting alone?_

 _I need you girl_

 _Why do I need you when I know I'll get hurt?_

 _I need you girl, you're beautiful_

 _I need you girl, you're so cold_

 _I need you girl I need you girl_

 _I need you girl I need you girl_

The song was amazing and she was thankful for the Japanese lessons she took, she knew the lyrics well and clear. They had good vocals and sang pretty well live and danced to top it. Impressed would definitely be an understatement.

And now, Erza thought that she might understand why everyone was so obsessed with those celebrities.

They were handsome, talented and everything a girl could dream of.

The show has only begun and she wanted to see more of their talent. They somehow seem to lift her mood up.

It was going to be a long night.

XXXX

"It's a successful wrap!" the orange-haired host hollered into the waiting room of Ryusei who were chatting among themselves.

They looked up at their manager and grinned widely. Their world tour had finally come to an end and each and every concert was a success with all the tickets sold and some fans left behind wanting more.

"So when do we go back home, grandpa Gildarts?" Natsu, the pink haired singer asked, fingers intertwined behind his head.

"Early tomorrow morning. I have booked your tickets today." The manager sat on the couch. "And don't call me grandpa, Natsu. I'm not that old." He frowned.

"But grandpa suits you more." The guy with navy blue hair spoke, playing games on his smartphone, the sound of cars racing reverberating and coming muffled with his fingers wrapped around the device's speaker.

"Gray…" Gildarts growled. "I don't look-"

"Did you just copy me?!" the manager was cut off rudely by Natsu.

"I didn't." Gray replied nonchalantly, his eyes glued on his game.

Natsu growled and threw a cushion at the teen. Gray, who wasn't ready for an attack was displayed with a 'You lose' on his smartphone screen and he gasped dramatically.

"I-I-I lost….?" He mumbled and Natsu had a victorious grin plastered on his face. "I lost?!" the dark-haired singer bellowed.

Gray narrowed his eyes at his arch nemesis and grabbed the cushion he had thrown.

"Oho! It's a showdown, finally!" Natsu laughed excitedly and grabbed the cushion from the person sitting next to him, who had his nose buried in his own I-phone, his blue hair falling onto his eyes.

There was a crash and a thud followed by a slap and another and then there was a smack and a sigh from the manager while the remaining three could barely hold their anger in.

"Let's stop, shall we?" Jellal, the lead singer said in a perfectly fine voice though he hit the highest notes with all his might and the nerves of his neck were visible for the fans to ogle at.

But what stopped the two teens was the calmness in his voice. Usually, the band leader would smack their heads hard and give them a lecture. But this time was different. Laxus and Gajeel, the remaining members too looked up at him.

"Jellal…" Natsu sank back in his seat. "You ok, dude?"

With that question asked, his steel glare on the floor softened and looked up at his band mates with a small smile.

"Yeah…" Jellal put his phone back in his white skinny jeans' pocket, still in his concert attire.

"Ultear again?" Laxus asked, crossing his legs. The blonde always knew their leader best and it was no surprise to them when he came up with that conclusion.

Jellal nodded once, curtly.

"I need some fresh air." Jellal stood up and grabbed his coat and hat. He didn't want to change and it'd be a dead giveaway since if there still were any fans lingering around, they'd recognize him as one of the band members. He needed a hat to cover his bright hair that could be seen for miles and it wouldn't be hard for his fans to spot especially him even though it's one in the morning.

"Be careful." He heard his friends say as he closed the door behind him.

The midnight air was cool and three were dark clouds covering the sky looking like the heavy downpour might happen anytime. He walked out of the stadium quite easily, thankful for the time his stress came back.

He met Ultear Milkovich, Gray's step-sister five years ago when they were both still trainees at Fairy Entertainment. They always met during practice sessions and it was almost at the same time they debuted through Fairy Entertainment. A mere friendship between the two then turned out to be a romantic relationship after two years making it three years since their first date. She became somebody else after they started dating. Maybe it was the fame they received though no one knew they were even dating except their close friends. She even started to pick on others. But what Jellal disliked most was the fact that she had doubted his feelings for her. Whenever he went on a concert abroad or even another city in the country, if it was a place she couldn't see him, she had begun to question him if he was cheating on her with other women.

Three years into the relationship. Wasn't it enough time for her to know that his feelings for her were real?

Everything was bright and happy but when time passed, they turned grey and gloomy. Wasn't it he, who was supposed to doubt her?

Maybe that was why tonight's starting song came out so real. So from deep within.

"Stop!" he heard someone yell in French.

Jellal quickly slipped inside a dark alley to his right and lowered his head as he watched three bulky men run after the skinniest girl he had ever seen. He couldn't see her face but he noticed her blood red hair. She was running towards him, in the middle of the road and suddenly slipped and fell hard. The roads were slippery and the girl was right in front him and he wished they couldn't see him standing in the dark alley.

The girl was just about to get up but fell again and Jellal suspected that she might have sprained her ankle but what surprised him most was that one of the men kicked her hard in the stomach. She fell again on the hard, deserted road. The next one grabbed a handful lock of red hair and pulled on it. Jellal watched with wide eyes as the girl remained unfazed, without even letting out a whimper or even a sound at that. It was as if she was used to this. His right foot jerked forward to go and save the girl but his reputation was on the line. His leg stopped but his mind was racing. His thoughts were getting erratic as the men kicked her in the ribs, back, legs and all over her body. How could, as humans do something like that to a person? A girl at that.

He couldn't stand anymore. Jellal walked out of the alley and grabbed his i-phone and dialed Laxus's number and cancelled the call, knowing that he'd get the message as his another hand went to punch the closest guy in the jaw. He heard a crack and the other two men quickly bent down to help their friend.

"I'll give you three seconds to run for your life." he said in his cool tone but his aura gave off a deadly vibe and the thugs knew better than to mess with a person who can dislocate a jaw with a single punch.

Jellal felt his knuckles vibrate from the force of the punch. He didn't know what he was doing but all he knew was that all his worries, stress and the hatred towards those men for hurting a girl and the anger he felt towards Ultear flashed across his eyes. He put his phone back, knowing that their manager had installed a tracking device in all their phones and they'll be coming to get him.

He turned to the girl who stood up wobbly, her back to him. She took a shaky step forward.

No words came out of his mouth as his hands shot forward in a futile attempt to grab her if she falls but the girl ran away, letting his fingertips know the feel of her soft and silky tresses. A feeling that lingered and asked for more when it disappeared as he stood there stuck in the posture with his hand in the air where he felt her locks, like an idiot.

He saw their van coming at the distance and when he stepped in as it stopped in front of him, he had a feeling that he'd be seeing her again. Sooner or later but he wished it'd be sooner rather than later, though he clearly didn't know why.

XXXX

Erza's seat was beside the small window and she was glad. It was dawn and the sun has yet to rise but what had excited the passengers, she didn't know she didn't even want to know. They were all pointing towards the first class and she could care less about what anyone was interested in right now. He body hurts and she was sure a rib or two is broken because, breathing properly has become a real problem now.

Last night when the concert ended, she was walking peacefully and she had no idea how those men were able to find her so far away from where they lost her. She was able to take down a few men, leaving only three behind and those three followed her, ran after her for hours until her body gave away and fell.

She had no energy to fight back even though they beat her to near death. And that mysterious guy… it was a good thing he didn't see her face. But somehow, her mind keeps telling her that she had heard his voice somewhere before.

The plane was taking off and she was scared to death. She followed all the instructions from the crew but being the first time, she just couldn't help but feel apprehensive whenever the plane shook when flying through the clouds.

But when she looked outside, all nervousness and anxiety was gone. The view was beautiful. She had never seen the ocean before. Only rivers and lakes.

They have been travelling for hours now and she could see the huge landscape of Japan.

 _"All passengers on board."_ The speakers in the airplane screeched and the warm voice of the co-pilot echoed throughout the plane. _"Please tighten your seatbelts. We will be landing in Haneda Airport very soon."_

She did what the co-pilot requested and her breath left her for good when the plane landed. But there was excitement she felt deep within and she wanted to go on another ride.

She quickly grabbed her duffel bag, the only luggage she had and descended the stairs literally being shoved by the people who were peeking at the first class passengers. She didn't know why but the arrival terminal was full. Crowded with both genders but mostly female and they had banners and other materials that read 'Ryusei, I love you or 'Jellal-kun' or 'Natsu-kun' or 'Gray-kun or 'Laxus-kun' or 'Gajeel-kun'.

So, that was why people were going crazy peeping into the first class. They were on the same plane as her. And just when she re-read the names, they all shouted and screamed and did whatever the crazy die-hard fans do when the band walked out of the arrival gates, all of their eyes covered in famous, branded sunglasses and expensive clothes she'd never be able to afford.

They were all smiling, or smirking in some cases and grinning in one case. A flock of security guards surrounded the five boys from getting attacked by the fans and struggled all the way to their van that was ready to depart as soon as they got in.

Erza watched them leave in awe. She didn't know she'd meet them again. And yet again, she wondered if she could be someone like them. But she wasn't trained and no company would take someone like her, who lived on the roads. But what she firmly believed was that she had enough talent to outrun all the contestants in a competition.

Shaking her head to clear out her thoughts, Erza walked out of the airport and onto the busy roads of Tokyo. She took out a map from her bag and scanned it. She needed to get to Magnolia district where Fairy Arts High school and College was located. It was far, far away and she had no money to pay for a cab. She had zero money. And that means no cab, no bus, just walk. Even if it takes all day.

And walk she did. It was about an hour later after sundown was she able to set foot in Magnolia district. The large green board above her displayed 'Magnolia District' in large capital white letters in both English and Japanese. She let out a sigh and walked in a pace slower than a turtle's. She had been jogging, running, sprinting just to get to her destination and nobody was kind enough to give her a lift without asking for thousands of yen, which something she didn't have.

But everything disappeared when she walked further into the city of Crocus. Paris was famous for being beautiful. But this, what she was witnessing right now was…something she had expected to be real only in fantasies. There were beautiful flowers at the side of both sidewalks and the shops, malls, coffee shops and the apartment blocks were all very colorful and lively looking. Everything glistened under the fluorescent lights above and she had a feeling that this place was safe. Safer than where she had lived before. She could only hope, though.

After another hour or so, she reached her college and thankfully for her, the office was open till 9pm. She hurried towards the admin building- after being guided by one of the security guards-and informed her receptionist about her scholarship. When she handed the woman her papers, she looked alarmed and looked at her in disbelief but quickly walked into the door beside her that read 'Chairman's office.' Erza waited for a minute or two until the woman came out and said.

"The chairman Makarov-san will see you now." She informed and gestured the redhead to go in.

Erza slowly opened one of the double mahogany doors after a light knock and closed it behind her. The chairman wasn't what she expected. Instead, he was small and looked way younger than his actual age.

"Erza, isn't it?" he asked and motioned her to sit on one of the couches in front of his desk. "I have been expecting you. How was your flight?" the not-very-tall man stood from his chair and walked over to the couch in front of her, sitting with grace.

"It was pleasant sir." She replied politely. As politely as she could.

"Very well then. I'm very glad that an honors student as you chose to accept our scholarship." The chairman scanned through her folders as he spoke. "It seems you've excelled in music. Do wish to be a singer, Erza?"

"If given the chance, I'd like to do my best."

Makarov nodded. He liked the confidence in her voice. "Fill this form by tomorrow evening and you'll be given your schedule according to the subjects you chose and what you want to major in, understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"You may leave now."

Erza gave a light bow. Makarov watched her leave. He had wanted to meet her for so long and when the time came, when she finally mad her appearance in front of him mere minutes ago, he could barely hold his nervousness in.

 _You have grown to be fine young woman, my dear…_ he mused to himself with a sad smile plastered on his face. _Your mother would be proud…_

XXXX

She walked out of the large school building with a sigh of relief. One thing was done and over with. And then the next, the most difficult task awaited her.

Where was she going to sleep tonight?

With yet another heavy sigh, she walked around, hunting down for jobs or even a decent place that would provide a roof above her head. And like that, she didn't know how long she had been walking until her feet completely stopped. She was exhausted, yes but that wasn't the reason for her sudden halt.

She must be in the middle of the district. Everything was so different. She stood in front of a fountain in the middle of the road. The buildings were in a circle around the fountain and the cars and other vehicles weren't moving that fast, there must be some sort of speeding limit within the area, she guessed. But the buildings, from the names and by the looks of it, must be the main buildings all around the district. There were a generous number of shopping malls, a national bank and many more but what caught her attention most was the large building just ahead of her, on the other side of the road with the neon letters on top of the wide, four storied building staring back at her with as much awe as she did.

 _Fairy Entertainment…_ A place where she wished to be at.

Unbeknownst to her mind, her feet walked towards the building, crossing the road without even bothering to look out for the passing vehicles. Her mind wasn't taking note of anything that was happening around her right now. It was just her and that building.

It was her and her future she had always wanted, she had always dreamed, flashing across her mind. Raising her hand as if to touch the building while the passersby gave her weird looks and snickered at her actions, she could care less about them as she traced the outline of the building in her mind's eyes. They don't know how it felt like to be so close to your dream yet unable to grasp it. Unable to unleash what you're capable of. The talent was in her blood, she knew it. But nobody had wanted to see it.

With another sigh, she retracted her hand to her side and turned around to go back to the task she was busy with minutes ago. Adrenaline coursed through her body like a wildfire, her position immediately taking on a defensive stance as she bumped into a person as she turned around.

"You should watch where you go kid!" Gildarts whined though he felt no pain from bumping into the girl in front of him. But it was only a matter on minute for him to take in her defensive stance and the slight shake of her hands as she glared at him with hawk like eyes.

And in that moment, he could read her like an open book.

The older manager of the famous pop band furrowed his brows as he tried to remember where he had seen the girl in front of him before. He could swear he _had_ seen the girl before. But he just couldn't remember where. And then his eyes darted to the worn out clothes she wore and even more torn bag she carried. In the outer pocket, he noticed a newspaper threatening to fall out.

"Are you looking for a job, kid?" he asked with a cheerful grin, the corners of his eyes crinkling from the force of it.

Erza, after deeming that that person in front of her wasn't anyone suspicious or someone who knows who she is, nodded once, slowly rescinding her defensive stance and hard glare.

"Would you like a hand then?" his cheerful grin was still intact.

After a while of thinking, while Gildarts patiently waited for her response, she shrugged, not sure of what to give him as an answer.

"Well then, follow, me!" he turned around but Erza didn't follow. "I got five boys and I need someone to take care of the house they live in though they spend most of their time outside their house but it'd still need some sort of cleaning right?" his gleeful smile and demeanor did little to convince her.

"Oh come on, kid!" he grabbed her wrists and she immediately tensed. She was still injured and the pain in her ribs came back again, forcing her breaths to come out in short gasps.

Gildarts released her hand at once and Erza brought that hand to clasp her side. Though there was no sign of pain visible on her face, Gildarts eyes saw the light, barely visible twitch of her eye, indicating she was in pain. And he wondered what she had gone through.

"Look here kid." His change of tone into a more serious and calm one got her attention. "If you think I'm going to hurt you then you don't have to worry about it because I have no intention of doing so. I just want to help you."

The honesty in his voice compelled her to look him dead in the eyes. And she could see the truth behind his eyes. Over the years of her rat life, she had begun to read people by looking at them in the eyes. And she could see no deception lying behind. It was either he was a good liar or just a good hearted old man.

"Alright, old man." She said in a low voice and Gildarts felt his eyebrows twitch.

"Wonderful!" he exclaimed, hoping the irritation of being called old wasn't there on his face. "I'm not _that_ old." But he still decided to convey though Erza showed no signs of interest as she stared blankly at the man.

"Well, come on then." He gestured her towards a black van and she followed, albeit hesitantly.

During their drive, Gildarts noticed how on guard she was, taking in the roads that was going in a blur against his fast speed. And yet again, he could only wonder what had happened to that girl though he wouldn't dare to ask.

The ride was quick, only a thirty minute ride and the duo climbed down onto a somewhat deserted road with a countable few people walking along the sidewalks but the number of cars driving had her heart eased somewhat a bit. If the old man beside her tried something, she could always alert the vehicles passing by.

"We're here!" he exclaimed standing in front of a black wooden door.

Behind him stood a lavender colored, one story house with a beige roof. The part of where they stood was uphill and hence it made the house look taller. There was a large tree in the yard beside the house but other than that, she couldn't see anything because of the beige wall that concealed the house.

She watched as Gildarts took a card key and pressed it to the electronic lock on the door before ushering her in.

She felt lost when she stepped in. she heard the lock shut back in place when Gildarts came to stand beside her. There was a staircase about five steps to walk towards the house that had only glass on one side though the first floor was all glass and it was simply magnificent. The back and one side were pressed against the wall. The curtains were closed hence the interior was concealed from her exploring eyes.

She followed Gildarts as he punched the numbers on the lock that was on the glass door that lead inside and she was excited to see what lay behind that door that reminded her of French windows.

As soon as the door was open, her foot froze on the doorsteps.

What sort of game was this?

There was a large living room just right up ahead but that was the last thing her mind was on.

She could clearly see the separate pictures of the universal pop band….. _Ryusei_.

* * *

 **A/N; SO? enjoyed? Then go a bit down and click that box and let me know what you feel about this chapter. upcoming chapter will be interesting, I promise!**

 **The song I used for this chapter is 'I Need U' by BTS(Bangtan Boys). A Korean pop band I just swoon over! Go check it out! Their dance is amazing and it's the exact same steps I made Jellal's band use so not much difference!**

 **Please read and review and I'll grant you with another lengthy…ok maybe not lengthy but exciting? Well whatever! You'd know when you review.**

 **And gomen for any mistakes ._. I got no beta and I'm no Native speaker. (English, that is)**

 ** _Ryusei_** **means fallen stars or meteors.**

 ***Bonne Soiree means good evening! In French obvi!**

 ***Stade de France is the National Stadium of France.**


	2. Chapter 2 A New Beginning

**A/N; this one's for you sana-oneechan!**

 **And a huge arigatou for the follows favorites and reviews! I'm glad you all liked the first chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

Kill me. Heal me

Chapter 2 ~A new beginning ~

* * *

"So…shall we begin signing the contract?" the voice of that old man brought her back from her musings. She turned to look at the ginger-haired man beside her.

Contract? What contract? The expression on her face must have given out what she was thinking as he replied;

"Weren't you looking for a job, kid?" he asked slumping down on the pearly white couch. She really wished if he'd stop calling her that. "I told you I needed someone to take care of my five boys' house. Your job is to be an in-house maid. Sit!" he pat the seat next to him and Erza, with cautious steps took the two steps down to the living room and sat a good distance away from the manager.

You can trust no man and her whole life had taught her that.

"Aren't you going to tell me to explain?" he asked, looking a bit exasperated with her lack of words. Erza frowned. Wasn't he doing that already? Gildarts sighed.

"Read this." he took out a manila envelope from the backpack he was carrying.

She grabbed the paper curiously and began going through the contents of it. According to the contract or so it says, she's supposed to clean the house and cook for the band if they are at home and do the laundering and all other activities a house maid is supposed to do and in return, she'd get free housing, hence, an _in-house maid_ and a huge amount, though it was only an average amount of salary at the end of each month. It was huge to her since she had never touched a large sum of money before.

But the part where they mentioned free housing looked very appealing to her and she wanted to accept the offer right then and there but how does she know that this isn't a joke? She knew she had seen that man during the concert back in France and there was proof all over the house but with the life she led, trust came with great effort.

Nevertheless, she decided to give it a try.

"Where do I sign?" she asked in a soft voice.

Gildarts grinned widely and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously though the man seemed oblivious or he might have plain out ignored her, she didn't know.

"Finally I finally got someone!" he took a pen from the same bag and handed it to her. "Here." He turned to another page, the third one from the stapled papers and pointed to the blank spaces where her name, sign and date were supposed to fill.

Her eyes stilled on a bold sentence just above the gaps. She wondered why she hadn't seen the warning before. There'd obviously be huge number of fine to be paid if she was to leak any information regarding the band but she didn't know that the company would sue her as well. Maybe things work differently here at Japan.

But then again, who was she going to tell, she thought as she signed the contract, wrote her name and date and sealed it off with her finger print.

"Let me show you your room, lady." Gildarts was all smiles and she was glad he hadn't called her kid this time.

Ascending the two steps-which seemed useless to her- she noticed an elegant wooden staircase that led to the first floor but Gildarts turned to the right, going under the staircase and into a small hallway, where there was a room at the end. She quickly looked behind and saw three other doors, beside each other and at the end, a doorframe that she guessed was the kitchen.

"This is your room." He opened the door to her and gestured her in.

It was beautiful. The walls were beige and the ceiling was baby blue. There was a smell she couldn't tell coming from the air-conditioner up above, must be some sort of flowers. On the right side was a double-sized bed with white sheets and baby blue covers with matching pillows, next to it was a nightstand with a small lamp placed on it. And next to it, a foot or two as a distance between them was a double-door closet with a full length mirror on both doors. All the furniture was matching, including the study table and the bathroom door. The room was simple and something she only saw in magazines and TV. Something she couldn't even dream to afford. But here she was, right in the middle of one her fantasies, wondering if she was indeed seeing an illusion or not.

She walked after Gildarts, one eyes still on him as he sat on the chair beside the study table.

"These are your keys." He held two card keys, like the two he had used to enter the house and a solid one he said was her room key. She'd be living among boys. Privacy would obviously be on the top of the list.

"I'll be taking my leave then. The boys won't be here until the beginning of college. After two days that is. You have the house all to yourself, um?" he looked at her in question, a huge grin adorning his face.

"Erza." She replied curtly.

"You have the house all to yourself, Erza."

He grinned once more and walked out the door.

Erza let out a sigh. She was…she felt…content. Never in her life has she ever gotten a place to live. A bed to sleep and healthy good food to eat. She didn't know what led to this and she again, guessed that the heaven pitied a homeless, orphan teenager.

But she was none of that anymore. She wasn't homeless now. Orphan maybe, but not homeless. And best of all, she could stop running now. She could sleep with both her eyes closed, not having to constantly keep her guard up and alert, Erza felt relieved. She was safe.

Heavens, she was safe. At least…for now.

The low grumble of her stomach alerted her back to reality, away from her musings. When was the last time she ate anything? She doesn't remember.

Taking slow, careful steps though she was the only one in the whole house, she made her way towards where she suspected was the kitchen. And alas! She was on spot. The interior was beautiful, like the rest of the house. There was a large glass onyx dining table that would fit about eight people and descending again what she thought was useless three steps, past the table there were beige cupboards underneath the granite counter where a sink was along with a microwave oven and other electronic kitchenware. There was a black-tiled island counter where an electronic stove was, seeing that she couldn't find any gas connected to it. And then, on her right, was a huge black refrigerator with double doors.

She walked over to it and opened both doors, eyes widening at the contents of it. On one side there were fizzy drinks, filling up entire door that definitely was taller than she was, with some water bottles in the last cabinet. On the other side, there were mostly different types of juice packets and bottles. In the main body, she saw vegetables of all sorts and some junk foods and fruits.

Considering that there was no reason for her to cook a meal, she decided to settle for a bottle of juice and some fruits. She wasn't going to eat those junk foods and fizzy drinks that were practically begging to be eaten. It was bad for her health.

XXXX

Two days passed in a blur. It was time for her to go to her new college and she didn't know if she was supposed to be excited or nervous. Well, having had experienced all the worst-case scenarios, she wouldn't be surprised of anything, really.

It was 5pm when she woke up, the excitement or whatever boiling deep inside her stomach, deep enough she couldn't go to sleep even when there were still three hours left until classes began. Sighing, she completed her morning hygienic routine and soundlessly stepped out in the dark hallway. There was only one light lit in the living room and it was enough for her to see the mess it was in. clearly, she was a very organized and neat person so there'd be no way there's empty packets, empty pizza boxes and other foods all over the living room.

And she never messed up the living room that bad that the cushions were everywhere and the couch itself was upside down.

And she as hell didn't wear _boxers_!

So….that leaves her with only one answer.

Ryusei was back. It must be after she went to bed. And that means she had to clean the mess they had created and prepare breakfast before going to college. Phew! Good thing she woke up early.

She completed all her chores within two hours. And thanked heavens for making it as noiseless as possible. Maybe it was that the band members were all deep sleepers, otherwise how could they not wake up when she turned the vacuum cleaner on, which was not very silent. Silent but not much. It was enough to wake whoever was sleeping in the downstairs rooms to be up and alert.

Quickly taking a shower, which she hadn't after she woke up and put on simple black tights and a black sweater with a turtleneck. Her hair was barely able to tie into a low, small ponytail but she still gave a shot at it, half of the locks already out if it the moment she tied it though Erza could care less about that. Nobody would care, right? Like back in France, everybody will mind their own business and continue on with their own lives, right?

Nobody will care about the other….

…right?

XXXX

The smell of a wonderful breakfast wrinkled his nose as he made his way towards the kitchen groggily, scratching his butt every now and then. His eyes were barely open as he took note of his band mates gaping at their dining table, as if that particular furniture wasn't supposed to be there.

"Who made breakfast?" he asked breaking the silence and all the boys turned to look at their pink-haired vocalist.

"I didn't." Jellal was the first to reply as he leaned against the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked their yard.

"I didn't." Gray replied, mimicking their leader's pose.

"Me neither." Laxus shrugged carelessly.

"I as hell don't know how to cook." The last but not the least, Gajeel replied, a smirk visible on his tanned face.

"Then who the hell made it?!" Natsu couldn't hold back his fury at the confusion. "I'm going to eat it, either way. I don't care who made it!" he walked over to the dining table, one hand reaching for the chair but was stopped when a pale hand came to touch his.

"Not yet." Jellal said in a dominating voice.

"You reek, man. Go wash up." Gray walked on the other side, pulling a chair and settling in it.

"What was that?!" Natsu snapped his head towards the dark haired vocalist/rapper.

"You're not getting any breakfast until you wash up, Natsu." Jellal spoke, ignoring the two who was eager to start a brawl and he wasn't ready for that as a first thing in the morning.

With inaudible curses and muttering some other things the rest of them couldn't head, Natsu walked towards his room to clean up and in a matter five minutes, he joined the others, wearing, thankfully clean clothes consisting of dark blue denim skinny jeans and a white t-shirt.

"Wow! Gildarts got an awesome cook." The hyperactive roseate exclaimed as he slurped the miso soup down and nearly shoving two to three eggrolls in one shot.

After piling the dishes in the dishwasher, the band made their way towards the front door, eager to step into the waiting van to drive off to school when they froze on their steps.

"Who cleaned the living room?" Jellal asked.

"Dunno." They chorused.

"Who laundered our clothes?" Gray asked taking a peep at their yard where their clothes from last night were hung to dry.

Shrugging Jellal said.

"Must be the new housemaid." And walked out the door and into the waiting van. The others followed suit, shrugging.

Pulling his headphones out, he tuned out his friend's banter with music. He glued his gaze out the window, watching how everything, all the trees, buildings and people passed in a blur. Jellal wasn't a person who stopped to admire nature much but he had to admit that the beginning of spring was beautiful. There were flowers growing here and there in a neat row and that was what he loved most about Magnolia district. It was always flowers and flowers and more flowers. The colorful little plants had a way to make his mood ease and lighten up. From the corner of his eye, he saw another van, similar to theirs, all black, including the windows that were tinted black and he knew that it was Ultear and her band; the Kappa, consisting of five girls including her. He should have known they'd be resuming their studies too since they were, after all employed under the same company.

Jellal heaved a sigh, pulling the navy turtleneck higher up to his chin and leaned further back in his seat, ears pounding with the song coming from his headphones at full volume.

He could see the gates of Fairy Arts and Music High school and college just up ahead and of course, the fans too.

A huge number of them as both vans closed the distance between them and the celebrities.

Jellal looked at them, his hands crossed, his eyes held a disinterested look in them. But he was grateful for their effort. If it weren't for them, the fans, they wouldn't have made it this far. They wouldn't be recognized internationally if it weren't for the dear fans. But really, though he was grateful, there were times he just had to get irritated. Like going as far as touching him all over and shouting, screaming right at his ears, the reason for his headphones.

The van stopped at the circular front yard of the college campus and all the fans, who were students, surrounded the vehicle, pounding on the doors. And right then, a number of security guards hollered through the large doors of the main building.

"Move!" the men in black came and moved the crazy fans to a good distance away, holding them back as the celebrities stepped out.

It was the girl band, Kappa to step out first.

There was a loud roar when the girls; a blonde with mesmerizing brown eyes, a whitehead with amazing blue eyes, a short, blue haired girl with a yellow headband, another blue haired girl who had a wide smile on her face as she waved at the crowd and lastly, the definition of beauty, a girl with long and dark locks with equally dark eyes stepped out, her pale skin glowing under the sun. All of them were perfect visuals but the last one was extreme for that category.

Jellal couldn't help but smile as the crowd went into a crazy frenzy as his girlfriend stepped out, all in model glory. Leave it to Ultear to make the male population swoon.

Erza watched from afar, the ruckus those two idol groups were causing. She had to admit, that was quite the sight. They were practically being worshipped by the crowd. It amazes her how their voices never crack with that much shouting and screaming. The excitement, she thought she might understand half of it. She after all, she had seen Ryusei's performance and that was mind-blowing. They were swoon-worthy, she'd admit. And she had searched up the other band, Kappa, employed by Fairy Entertainment. They were quite impressive too. The whitehead, Mira Strauss or something she, and that blonde, Lucy had good vocals and had hit quite remarkable high notes in some of their songs. The other had good vocals too but they couldn't go as high as the blue-eyed singer and the blonde one.

She watched the group go inside and after a minute or so, a bell rang and the next thing she knew, all the students were scurrying away like ants. Erza frowned. She wasn't really the running type, except during the life threatening moments, so she decided to walk at a leisurely pace and headed to the auditorium where there was to be a 'special' assembly held, something like that was announced from the speakers after the bell.

The redhead decided to take the corner most seats at the enormous auditorium where the air vibrated from the noise made. All of them were speaking excitedly with each other and she felt somewhat dejected as she leaned further back in her seat. Nobody came up to her and spoke. She should feel grateful at that, she was never with someone of many words but she wished she could make some friends here.

Everyone winced when she mike standing on the podium screeched and Erza noted that the chairman she had met earlier was going to give them the speech. After all, it was a _new_ year and that means beginning of the first semester.

"Good morning dear students." Makarov greeted gleefully, a grin plastered on his face. "I see that you have enjoyed the holidays."

"Yes." The crowd drawled out lazily amazing the redhead sitting at the corner. She was never the person to miss out any word spoken by her teachers.

"Those newbies…" he cleared his throat. "Welcome to Fairy Arts and Music; the most prestigious school of music in the whole country." He spread his arms for further emphasis and Erza knew that his words were not exaggerated, unlike other headmasters and principals tends to do.

The college _is_ known throughout the country for their quality education in music and schooling the number one _internationally_ recognized idol groups of all times that were rumored to be the next legendary singers.

"Returning back to the reason why this assembly is held…" his voice took on a much serious edge, making all the students go silent. "This year, we have decided to make the end of semester evaluation trickier and reduce the number of students that gets to debut, through the Fairy Tail conglomerate, Fairy Entertainment. Hence, no exam will be easier and you have to try your best to _earn_ the chance to debut or give up the dream entirely, if you want to laze around. You have to impress the board of Fairy Entertainment _and_ the examiners to be able to debut." He paused and no one dared to utter a word.

"As for the debuted two groups, don't get so happy yet because you have become internationally recognized. If you fail all the end of semester evaluation, all four semesters, then you _will_ be disbanded."

Gasps and murmurs filled the room.

"This condition applies to each of you individually, not as a whole. If one of you fails all four exams, then feel free to give up your career under Fairy Entertainment. You _will_ be disbanded, no excuses there."

More gasps were heard.

There was a brief silence until the chairman was given another sheet of paper by his assistant.

"Well, that wasn't very good news now, was it?" he chuckled to himself. "Onto the bright side." He cleared his throat and that glint in his eyes had everyone's curiosity peaked.

"Two months from today, it'd be our school anniversary. Fifty years into the service, hence, to celebrate our silver jubilee we have a very _special_ agenda planned. Curious?" the chairman gave a sly grin and cleared his throat.

"As you all know, the three founders of this school/college, I, chairman of Fairy Entertainment and another…" he paused, as if trying to plan how to voice what was in his head. "…a legend or so you have heard, the legendary singer, Nana Scarlet. And I guess that by now you all know that Nana-san isn't physically with us anymore, so…" the older man trailed off, a nostalgic look sporting his face. "…to reminisce how great of a singer she was, we, the board of directors of Fairy Arts and Music have decided that on our anniversary, we hold a competition."

There were excited whispers all over the large room.

"Everyone will get to choose a song from the archives of Nana Scarlet's songs and sing it on this stage, right here. The competition is for all grades, from first to fourth year seniors. So grab a partner and do what you do best." The chairman spoke loudly than he had been and the students began to chatter excitedly.

"That'd be all for today, thank you." A beautiful roseate, with a soft voice spoke into the mike after the chairman left but her words went unheard to all ears as they hurried back to their classes.

XXXX

Jellal huffed, shoving his hands deeper into the pockets of his black skinny jeans and leaned further back in his chair. Who knew theory classes were so boring? Pulling the turtleneck of his sweater up to his lips, he let his eyes wander off around the new class.

There weren't many people he didn't know, only a countable few. His band mates and all members of Kappa were in the same class and there was a three-member rock band group who never got to debut back in the high school branch. And then there were about three others he didn't know. A redhead, a brunette and another one with green hair, all girls except one boy with ebony hair. The blue haired singer let his eyes gaze back to the front of the class where a long, blue-haired teacher was sitting beside her desk playing with her smartphone and occasionally blushing. He sighed, yup, theory classes weren't his thing.

But he still needed to get good results if he wanted to continue his line of profession, so there wasn't much of a choice as he leaned forward, grabbing his pencil and answering the multiple choice questions on the paper.

But really, what teacher gives out a question paper on the first day of school? College is way weirder than high school.

"Psst!" he heard someone hiss and turned his head slightly to the right.

Ultear threw a folded paper right beside his feet, acting rather dumb. With a blank face, he dropped his pencil and bent to retrieve it while on the way picking up the paper his girlfriend had thrown. Stealing a glance at the teacher who still had her nose buried in her smartphone, he unfolded the paper.

 _I missed you….._ It read, with a heart drawn at the end. He wanted to tell her the same but if she played the same trick as he did, the teacher will see right through it so he decided to settle with a small smile that he hoped conveyed what he felt inside.

Yep, Jellal really did miss her.

The little gesture between the two celebrity love birds didn't go unnoticed by Erza as she glanced up, finishing the questions in record time. It wasn't as sneaky as the couple thought it'd be. She was sure the teacher saw through it making her snort inwardly. But she felt a pang of jealousy building up within her at that little gesture.

Never in her nineteen years of life had she encountered with a guy. She hardly spoke with anyone so it was unlikely to have a romantic relationship with _anyone_. After transferring here to Japan, she felt like doing a lot of things. Like;

Make friends.

Sing on a stage, well that had been her ulterior motive ever since she could remember.

But most of all,

…she wanted to fall in love. She wanted to experience how it would feel like to be in love. How it would feel like to have friends that got your back and yell at you for keeping secrets away from them and shout at her when she got wounds but still nurse them afterwards.

She must have been looking at the blue-haired singer as her thoughts drifted off toward the things she wanted to do because she noticed him looking at her and frowned. Mentally shaking her head, Erza quickly averted her gaze back to her paper.

Jellal was so damn bored. He had finished the whole question paper within ten minutes after he began and he was yet again, letting his golden emerald orbs wander off into the classroom. He saw a girl, with red, no more like _scarlet_ , staring at her about a seat down at the corner of the room. She was sitting behind Lucy, who was sitting on Ultear's right while he sat on Ultear's left.

He frowned. That hair looked a lot familiar but he couldn't really put his finger on where he had seen it. The girl turned away, probably because she saw him frowning at her. Well, he wasn't staring at her, literally but it was more like her hair.

He jerked back up front when he heard a stick being whacked on a desk and in his haste; he failed to notice the scowl on Ultear Milkovich's face.

Ultear _had_ seen the redhead behind Lucy staring at her boyfriend and the latter in turn had spun to look at her. What was her problem? Staring at a person who was way out of her league. She must be new and a die-hard fan of him. That probably was the one. Then, she should show her that Jellal _belonged_ to _her_. She should show that red haired freak her place and she would show her, her celebrity power.

"I am your class teacher, Aquarius Kai." Their blue haired teacher's introduction brought the dark haired beauty back from her musings. "And right now I need you to write the name of your partner or partners for the upcoming competition. Minimum is two and as for maximum, I don't care if you team up with the rest of the school." She was calm and collected.

Some of the lazy students groaned.

"Right now!" she snapped, her voice rising to levels beyond capable and everyone shuddered.

And at that moment Jellal knew better than to doze off in the middle of another theory class again.

"Say, how about we perform as Kappa?" the girl in front of Erza, Lucy said excitedly, her eyes glistening innocently as she turned to her friends.

"Sounds cool." Juvia, the taller one between her and the other blue haired girl with the yellow headband said.

"Agreed." Mira replied just as excited as the rest of the band was. "Levy?" the whitehead turned to the shortest member.

"Who else would I partner up if it isn't with any of you?" the shorter one replied, flipping her short blue locks over her shoulder.

"There's no one who can beat Kappa." Ultear said with a giggle.

"Hey! We're performing as Ryusei too, you know!" Natsu shouted from where he sat, sitting in front of Jellal and got smacked by the said person.

"But still, with your idiocy, I doubt you'd win." Ultear flipped her hair over shoulder and crossed her platform-heeled clad legs, pointing the long heel towards the loud roseate.

"What was that?!" Natsu whispered and just when he was about to snap, Jellal kicked him under the table.

Ultear giggled.

Erza sighed. Who was she going to team up with? If they plan to perform as Ryusei and Kappa, then half of the class is taken. She looked at a large built guy with brown hair who teamed up with some other two who was sitting close with him. She sighed again.

How hard was trying to find a partner for a freaking performance? Just when she was about to snap she heard a voice refer to her.

"Hey red hair…" a brown haired girl on her right drawled out like she had a shot of the strongest alcoholic drink. "Wanna be partners?" the way she was speaking really made Erza want to reject her offer. She quickly scanned her eyes in search of another partner. She caught a green haired girl ask the black haired guy. They were the last people. Erza sighed. That leaves her with no choice but to accept the request from the half-lidded girl, head now lying ungracefully on the desk, brown locks sprawled all over.

"…ok…" she sighed.

The girl let out a giggle and a sent her a weak thumbs up to which Erza replied with a blank face and if she wasn't dozing off, she could swear she heard the dark haired girl in front of the brunette beside her snicker.

Erza sighed yet again. Will she able to stop that anytime soon? She gazed at the-if she isn't mistaken, asleep-brunette on her right.

This might as well be her chance to make some new friends and take a new step of her new beginning.

* * *

 **A/N; please forgive me for any mistakes.**

 **R &R peeps and i'll give you another chapter. very soon, hopefully! ^^**

 **until then,**

 **Ja!**


	3. Chapter 3 Right Round

**A/N; thank you all for your reviews follows and favorites! ^^**

 **Guests; I'm a crazy Korean fan so I named this in memory of my lost series 'Kill me heal me'. LOL! I mean I pressed play of the first episode and the laptop crashed, deleting all of 'em. I couldn't catch it on TV either and I had no time to get the series :P haha! Glad you liked this story. There'll be more K-pop coming.**

 **Enjoy!**

Kill me. Heal me

Chapter-3~Right round~

* * *

It was another morning and Erza was yet again cleaning up the whole house. She had awoken long before the sun had yet to rise from the horizon. Last night, she thought that the house was being raided and she had jerked straight up from a peaceful slumber in years after that nerve wrecking scream. Grabbing the closest thing-a pillow- as a weapon she made her way closer to the door and put her ear on it. She heard things being thrown away and some incoherent words and insults flying in the air and many other more noises.

"Gray you bastard!" she then heard that loud scream and knew that it was Ryusei having _fun_. What a weird group.

And she hadn't dared to step out the safe confines of her room.

Erza blew a strand of hair out of her eyes as she washed the ashen plates and put them on the table, almost ready for breakfast. She ate her own share of what she cooked- a traditional Japanese breakfast- and satisfied her belly. She put five plates on the table and walked back to her room.

In a matter of minutes, she was out the front door and running towards college, hoping to get there on time. She had to _walk._ Unlike anyone else and the fatigue of barely being able to sleep only for about three hours last night was finally kicking in. but she still had to walk in a fast pace, the worn out backpack jumping up and down. She still hasn't got her paycheck, therefore, no buses or taxis or clothes and backpacks.

She huffed. Not like running was anything new. While her concentration was solely halted on reaching the college on time, she missed a pair of confused golden emerald eyes looking at her through the black van as it passed her.

XXXX

The redhead fanned herself as she entered the college hallway and walked to her locker. She sighed, out of content. She made it on time and upon opening her grey locker, a purple colored paper that was neatly folded into two fell out. Assuming that it was from Cana, her partner for the competition, she picked it up and read.

 _Stay away from my beloved if you want to keep that pretty hair of yours in place. ;-)_

Erza was, well, baffled. Why would _she_ get a note like this? She was practically invisible. No one talked to her, except Cana. So, why would anyone sent her a letter like this? And what's with the 'beloved'? Considering that maybe it was in the wrong locker, she crumpled the little paper and threw it into the nearest trash can and shoved her worn out backpack into her locker.

Ultear clenched her fists and she stomped one foot on the stairs. She was coming down to put her makeups back into her locker when she saw the redhead taking out the paper _she_ had put in there. A smile broke onto her face. It was damn hard to find that idiot looking girl's locker and her smile immediately disappeared when she saw her crumple the paper and throwing into the dustbin. Ultear bit her lip as her brows furrowed in anger. How dare she act so clueless?! Didn't she heed her warning?

She descended the remaining two steps and stormed towards her locker, her high-heeled boots clicking loudly on the floor. Hers was right _next_ to that annoying redhead's locker. She punched her code as if venting her anger on it and yanked the metal door open, shoving her makeup pouch inside.

Erza didn't wait there any longer to ponder on who might have put that stupid paper in her locker. Taking a mental note to encrypt a code on her locker, she walked away, unaware of the dangerous aura emitting from her next-locker neighbor.

XXXX

Their first period was a practical lesson. The whole classroom with full-length mirrors on all sides of the walls was filled with laughter and chatters. The teacher was five minute late and all of them began to take advantage when the teacher didn't make her/his appearance even after 7 more minutes. Thankfully for them, all their practical lessons were hour and a half long.

Some were sitting on the wooden floor while others leaned against the metal balustrade about four quarters down from the ceiling. Jellal and Ultear was one of the latter.

"You ok?" he asked in soft voice, as they stood beside each other.

"Yes!" she hissed, folding her arms, looking away from his peering face.

"I know you're not." Jellal nudged her arm playfully, emitting a sigh from his girlfriend.

"Jellal…" she began.

"Hm?"

"Why do you stare at other girls?"

 _This again?_ His smile faded away. What was she talking about? When did he do that? He didn't even know if he looked at any other girl like he looked at Ultear. He didn't know…he honestly didn't know…what she was talking about.

"Answer me." She hissed through gritted teeth, breaking his reverie.

He opened his mouth to answer just at the same time as the door slid open, revealing a pastel pink-haired teacher and all the students jerked to their feet.

"Hi!" she said merrily, a tint of pink on her pale cheeks. "I'm Aries, your dance instructor."

The teacher instructed to make a line in four rows and the students were quick to heed her words as they made four lines and Erza stood last, in the last line.

"Very good!" Aries chirped. "Now I want to see how well you dance. I'll play a song and you have to show me what you got, alright?" she instructed as she walked to a corner of the room where a table was. There was a laptop placed on it and when she clicked on something, all four speakers in each corner buzzed with music.

She gestured to the first one, who was Mira-Jane Strauss.

The song Right Round by Florida ft. Kesha was playing through the sound systems and Mira danced right to the rhythm, every part of her body moving with utter grace and liveliness that made Erza want to cower in embarrassment. Not that she was bad but she wasn't sure if she'd be as good as her.

All members of Kappa and Ryusei were amazing dancers. Jellal was the second last one to go from the idol groups and Erza watched in awe as he danced. How his body moved so swiftly to the fast tracks and how easy he made it look like dancing was but when in reality the moves were damn hard to learn but easy enough when you master it. They were all sitting now and it made much easier for her to see the people dancing.

Their eyes met for a moment when he went over to sit beside his girlfriend and Erza quickly looked away as the notice from early morning resurfaced.

Ultear was next and the last to go from the idol groups and she sent Erza, who didn't miss it, a glare before standing in front of the class. Erza frowned when Ultear turned, her back facing them. What was with her?

Ultear danced like her whole body was on fire. A good fire, though. Her moves were smooth and strong at the same time and no less was expected from the number one girl group in the country. Jellal knew why she was so angry and what made her dance like that, panting hard after only five minute of dancing. But he still didn't know what she was talking about. He leaned his back against the mirror, one arm resting on his knee while the other leg spread out before him as he watched his girlfriend sit with her band members who praised her but he didn't miss the glare she sent to someone who was sitting last, in the last row.

His eyes followed her glare and his eyes widened when he saw the same redhead, whose hair color reminded him of a certain night at France. She had her legs crossed; head hung low, probably playing with her shoelaces.

Was it…. Was it?

Jellal sighed. It must be yesterday during Aquarius's class when he noticed how familiar her hair color looked. Ultear must have seen that. What's the big deal? It wasn't like he was _ogling_ at her or anything of that sort. Then why was she making such a huge deal out of everything?

Jellal ran a frustrated hand through his azure locks and went staring back at the dancing though his mind was elsewhere.

Cana was next. After her, she was next and Erza was so damn nervous she could feel her fingers trembling. Cana was a pretty good dancer, she had to admit. She could be on par with the celebrity idols in the room. The brunette sent her a thumbs up and a grin when she came back to sit beside her.

The teacher raised her brows when Erza made no move to get up and instead stared at the pink-haired instructor.

"Well?" she asked in a soft voice and the redhead could feel all the eyes on her.

She shook her head hoping the teacher would understand that she was uncomfortable and she sunk her head low as if trying to hide herself from the prying eyes of her classmates.

France had been so different. The teachers never asked to do something like this except for the final exams. She felt so utterly out of place and the sense of unfitting was becoming so intense she wanted to run out of the class and never come back. But this was a step closer to her dream. She can't just scuttle away now.

Not when she had the chance.

After a minute or two, Aries stood up from her chair and clapped her hands, bringing everyone back from their musings.

"I see that you all have incredible talent and you're all capable of doing better. So, during the first week we will increase your stamina with some extreme and hard choreography and you will not be slacking." Her voice grew stern and firmer.

"And I don't want this class to fall behind because of one student." her eyes narrowed at no one in particular but all of them had a good idea of who she was talking about. "Teamwork is important and I need you to move in sync. I want this class to top all the first years. Understood?"

The class agreed.

"Also, if anyone needs any help in the upcoming competition, feel free to ask me." She sent a sweet smile. "Any questions?"

Natsu raised his hand and all those who knew him had a good idea of what he was going to ask since they groaned loudly.

"Are you single?" he flashed to toothy grin at the teacher who giggled.

"Sorry sweetheart but I'm engaged." She pointed to the silver ring on her finger and the guy's face fell.

XXXX

The classes after lunch break were given to practice to the upcoming competition. The first floor of block B was dedicated to studio rooms where the students can dance, compose songs and do things every other music student do. But there was hardly anyone who was actually interested in practicing for the coming competition and Erza had a feeling that everyone will begin to panic in the last moment if they were going to giggle and drool over the celebrities dancing in one of the classrooms.

Each and every first year was stacked in front of the class room where Kappa and Ryusei were currently dancing to a mixed song of both bands. They were amazing she will admit again but she was sane enough to keep herself in control unlike that crowd of girls and boys closing in on the door to the classroom.

The brunette next to her sighed at the ogling crowd.

"Say, you haven't told me your name yet." Cana leaned her back against the indoor balcony railing that overlooked the crowd and the dancing gods (and goddesses).

"Erza." The redhead replied in a slow voice.

"Erza what?"

"Just…Erza."

Cana frowned but didn't press on it anymore and Erza mentally heaved a relieved sigh.

"What…are we going to do? For the competition?" Erza asked robotically, trying to initiate a conversation.

"I'm not a great vocal. I rap. You?" Cana waved her hands for further emphasis.

"Vocalist."

"That's great! I can rap while you sing and we can edit the songs but keep the lyrics as it is. What are we waiting for then? We make the perfect team." And without warning, the brunette grabbed Erza by the wrist and climbed down the stairs and into one of the empty classes in a corner.

XXXX

"That was intense!" Lucy exhaled as she grabbed her water bottle, strands of blonde clinging onto the side of her face with slick sweat.

"Yeah!" Ultear slumped beside Jellal, who had one elbow propped up on his knee while the other leg stretched out in front of him.

He looked so damn hot with all the sweat covering him, chest heaving ever so lightly after the dance battle between Kappa and Ryusei.

"What?" he asked with a hint of smile when Ultear kept gazing at him.

"Nothing." The dark haired singer blushed and looked away making a deep chuckle emanate from the blue haired teen's chest.

Jellal let out a sigh and leaned his head back against the mirror wall behind him. He brought the water bottle close closer to his lips and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard ear piercing shrieks and yells coming at the doorway, which was….right in front of him.

"You're so hot!"

"Jellal-kun!"

"You're so sexy."

 _Oh. It's just the fans._

Yes. Just the fans. And they could be deadly when they wanted to be. No wonder he nearly shit his pants because of their voices.

Lucy stood up and shut the door in front of their faces, her face burning in anger. Natsu whistled at the fans before the door closed and the blonde singer sent him a glare, immediately sizing the roseate up. After she sat back between Levy and Mira, a comfortable silence enveloped them.

"What do you guys think of that redhead in our class?" Lucy asked in a soft voice.

"She's very discreet." Levy answered immediately.

"Mysterious?" Natsu frowned, trying to image the redhead's face he clearly hasn't seen yet.

"Ugly." Ultear's statement made them all look at her.

"Well, I can't say that she is but she looks a bit malnourished." Mira said thoughtfully, a finger tapping her chin.

"A bit?" Juvia raised a brow. "She looks like she lives on the roads." The blue-haired singer exclaimed.

There were hums and nods of agreement.

"But what if she drags us down with her? Clearly she doesn't have talents. Not in dancing category. Semester-end evaluation results depend on our overall class progress. What if we fail with her?" Lucy sighed, resting her head on her bent knees.

"We won't let that happen." Ultear's said in a strong voice, brows furrowing. "Either we kick her out or somebody teach her the basics."

Another round of agreement passed within the two bands.

"Where did she even come from? I never saw her back in high school." Gray asked, leaning against the only wooden wall in the room.

"I don't know. A scholar?" Gajeel answered carelessly. He doesn't give a shit about that redhead.

Laxus snorted. "You should learn the definition of Scholar, man."

"Yeah, they have talents." Natsu piped in, though he was somewhat confused as to why they were talking about her. "But she looks like a good person."

Everyone groaned, except Jellal. Natsu and his big, loving loyal heart.

Ultear didn't let it slip her mind. From the corner of her eye, she saw that her boyfriend was listening but he hasn't said a word. She couldn't help but feel like there was some sort of connection between the two of them. And she was going to figure it out.

Soon.

For the moment, she decided to let it slip and leaned her head against his lean shoulder and heaved a contented sigh. Everyone else in the room let out a teasing noise.

"You guys have no right to tease us like that." Ultear kicked her feet lazily, not really hitting anyone.

"We do, sweetheart. We have every right." Mira chirped.

"Ha! Speak for yourself, Mi-chan! I saw you and Laxus the other night. Why did he take you home when we have a van with a driver? I _knew_ you both were up to something." The dark haired woman let her full lips stretch into a wide smirk.

Laxus looked away while Mira had a tint of pink on her face.

"I did too." Jellal smirked, satisfied with Laxus's expression.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Mira scratched her cheek sheepishly and tried to look at anything but the couple in front of her.

"The stuttering explains a lot." Levy said and everyone except Laxus and Mira burst out laughing.

XXXX

Two months passed in a blur. The whole campus was buzzing with excitement. Flags, banners, balloons and other decorations adorned the whole building and everywhere near it. Students were practicing their lyrics for the last minute as parents, government officials and reporters filled the college.

Everybody was given a brochure at the gates and a badge that had '50' in bold letters and other decorations on it and some people pinned it onto their suits and dresses while others decided to keep it in their palms. It was all smiles and rainbows. They all felt like it was such a huge honor to be invited to the most prestigious music school's celebration of service for half a century.

Erza was seated in one of the empty classrooms staring at the lyrics, trying her best not to confuse the words. It was a beautiful song. She had to admit that Nana was indeed a legend. She had searched up the woman and was amazed at her achievements and felt really bad for her after reading that the legendary singer was in a coma. She realized what the chairman meant when he said that she wasn't _physically_ there anymore. Poor Nana. She was an awe-inspiring woman. She was the number one in her profession and there had been none greater singer than her in Japan's history.

If she was being genuinely honest, Erza thought that she looked a lot like her when she searched pictures of her. She looked like an older version of her, except for the hair. She was blonde.

But of course, that was absurd. She had no connection with the famous singer. There are a lot of look-alikes.

"Told you that'd look good on you." Cana's voice brought her back to reality. The brunette closed the door behind her and inspected herself standing in front of the mirror wall.

Her brown tresses were straightened with a red fashion beret cap on her head which she adjusted until she felt it was perfect and brushed invisible dust from her black skin-tight sweater dress and red tights. She turned in her black high-heeled booties, checking herself in every angle possible and flashed the blank-faced redhead a huge grin with a thumb up and a wink when she was done.

Erza stared at her own outfit which Cana had helped her buy for the competition. They decided to wear matching colors and that was how Erza found herself wearing a sleeveless top with a halter neck and leather black tights and black doll shoes where a red flower was on the middle. She thought it was cute and there was no way she was walking in those high heels. She never wore one before and she only embarrassed herself trying one at the mall, so she decided that high heels weren't meant for her. But she couldn't deny that she felt a bit jealous when she sees people posing in heels.

Lowering her gaze back to the lyrics in her hand, she began humming to the beat. They have sort of made a new-version of the song. More like a remix where she takes the normal vocal part and Cana raps and damn was she good at that. She was like a pro.

"We gotta go, Erza." The brunette looped her arm into Erza's and they made a dash to the field behind the campus where a stage was prepared.

Erza was awed at the vast number of people gathered as she looked from side to side and she felt uncomfortable. She had never been in the presence of so many people except that one time she was swept into Ryusei's concert.

Speaking of Ryusei, she spotted the boys adjusting their mikes and earpieces beside a tent backstage and guessed they were first while she and Cana were last. Kappa was nowhere in sight and she guessed they were inside one of the two 'Private' tents. Amazing perks of being a celebrity, huh. So it was private, then why was Cana dragging her to Ryusei's tent?

"My dad told me to meet him before the assembly starts." Cana, informed as if reading her mind.

"Yo Cana!" Natsu greeted the brunette and frowned when he spotted her behind.

"Natsu! Is my dad here?" she pointed to the tent and the roseate nodded, still frowning at the redhead. "She's my partner."

"Well, it's your loss." He shrugged and hopped off into the tent with a yell. "Gildarts!"

Erza frowned at his words, so did Cana. She knew people didn't like her very much from the first day by the looks they sent her way. And teachers had been extremely strict with her. Especially their dance instructor, Aries. Well, she wouldn't really blame her. After all, she had denied dancing and the teacher had kicked her out of the class telling her that she could come in when she decides to dance. And she hadn't stepped foot in the class since then. Her classmates all gave her irritated looks except for Cana. She knew how important it is to work together if they wanted to good results but she just couldn't help the insecurity she felt and the looks they give her doesn't really help.

"Hello my pumpkin!" she looked up at a familiar voice and was met with the ginger-haired man who helped in getting employed hugging her friend.

"I told you not to call me that, you perverted dad!" Cana pinched his arm and he yelped dramatically.

"How is pumpkin perverted?" the older man pouted, hands still wrapped around her daughter.

Erza watched the interaction between father and daughter with a tug on her lips that quite didn't seem like a smile. She doesn't know how it feels like to have parents or siblings or…friends. Cana was close but she didn't know if the brunette considered her as a friend.

She doesn't know what 'feeling' meant or how it is to feel when you feel those _feelings_. So far, she only knew panic, dread, anxiety and all those sorts of _fear_.

She could always tell if someone was watching her. It had become something she relied deeply on. Like a sixth sense after all those years of hardship. And when she turned to the source, she found her eyes widening. Barely, though. She had expected a glare from a classmate or a disgusted look from other first years but not Jellal Fernandez, heartthrob of the whole campus, first, second, third and fourth years combined. Women of all ages swoon over his beauty and practically worship the singer.

So, why would he be looking at her, a nobody at that, when he had a beautiful girlfriend devoted to him and only him? She was sure he _was_ looking at her but when she caught his eyes, he looked away immediately.

"Let's go!" Cana chirped and dragged her away back to the chairs all over the grassy field.

The assembly went on longer than planned because of the chairman's speech but no one actually minded. It was, after all, about Nana Scarlet, a person no one ever got bored to hear. There were some tears and nostalgic looks on their faces but when the assembly was over, their faces lightened up with the mention of the next program. With that, manager of Ryusei and father of Cana Alberona stepped on stage with a mike in his hands and goofy grin on his face.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen! I am Gildarts Clive, your host for the day." The way he spoke was enough to make the excitement intensify even more.

"We have Aquarius Kai, CEO of Fairy Entertainment, Mister Igneel, Aries Softwool and Scorpio Sands as judges of this special competition in memory of our beautiful Nana." He stopped briefly. "And I hope our love reaches to her and hastens her recovery."

The whole audience fell silent as they all prayed silently.

"Alright! Time to lighten up the mood! Here we go!" he drawled the last word and did some sort of jig that sent the audience into a spiral of laughter. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…" he stopped for further effects and cleared his throat, making the audience groan impatiently. "I give you Nana Scarlet's Dj got us falling in love…" he paused again and he was doing it deliberately.

"Ryusei style!" he screamed into the mike but the audience didn't seem to mind as they screamed louder than the host himself, including the parents and other famous people.

Ryusei really bend hearts in their favor.

The five young men took stage, waving their hands which made the audience scream even louder, from the top of their lungs.

The music began and Ryusei took position. The rappers went first, followed by Jellal, the lead who sang the first verse and Natsu took from the second verse to the base and Gray followed next and they sang the chorus together. Laxus and Gajeel came next, starting the circle all over again.

The backup dancers from the college itself completed the perfection. Both girls and boys were on equal par with Ryusei except the fact that they weren't singing but only dancing. But still, they felt pride welling in their hearts as they danced on the same stage with Ryusei.

The five boys made the whole audience stand on their feet.

XXXX

Erza watched as people got disqualified while others got pretty good remarks from the judges. So far, Ryusei and two other teams got pretty _passable_ marks. The marking criterion was so strict Erza began to shudder in nervousness. Next up was the Kappa, second last and after them was Cana and her.

Kappa went for a sweet song called 'Cupid', a song Nana sang when she was twenty. They perfected the theme with floral tops that showed their smooth midriffs and denim short shorts with strappy heels that made their legs go on for miles. They too had dancers from all four years who were more than glad to join them.

They won a score similar to Ryusei and they were both on par with each other, eliminating the group who had been close to Ryusei before.

Erza was a trembling mess as she waited backstage for Kappa to finish. She held the mike in a strong grip as if it was her lifeline. Kappa came down giggling and laughing and Ultear brushed her shoulder against hers in a manner that practically yelled 'loser' but Erza could care less about that right now. She brainwashed for something that would keep herself from shaking. Most importantly, to keep her _voice_ from shaking. That was the most important think for a vocalist, right?

Voice.

Cana came to stand next to her and squeezed her arm, giving her a reassuring smile. Erza tried to return it but she wasn't a person who smiled very often so she didn't even know what she gave to her brown haired friend.

When their names were announced, Erza took shaky steps to the stage, shutting her eyes close to stop herself from shaking. There so many damn people out there. There were government officials, celebrities, actors, actresses, music artists, singers, parents and so many people. It all made her nerves vibrate within her. But she had come so far. She can't chicken out now. Not while she sang so nicely during practice.

There were two chairs in the middle of the stage and Cana took one and Erza quickly mimicked her, nearly toppling over when Cana stretched one leg in front of her for further sexiness. She heard people laugh. When she was seated, holding the mike for dear life, the music began.

The music.

The moment it entered her ears, everything disappeared. She wasn't shaking anymore. She wasn't nervous. She felt….confident. Like this was what she was meant to be. She opened her mouth.

 _I'm gonna love you_

 _Until you hate me_

 _And I'm gonna show you_

 _What's really crazy_

 _You should've known better_

 _Than to mess with me, harder_

 _I'm gonna love you I'm gonna love you_

 _Gonna love you gonna love you_

 _Like a black widow, baby_

The words flew out of her mouth like honey. Like silk. Her voice enchanting and affecting the very core of their hearts that demanded attention.

Igneel's head jerked up at the voice, eyes nearly brimming with tears. The way this girl sang, with so much confidence had him reminding of his little-sister figure.

It was like Nana Scarlet was sitting right there in the form of another. That was her voice. Her appearance except for the hair and less mature looking.

Wait, appearance?

The CEO's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. That couldn't be. She couldn't be… he wanted to cry right then and there.

 _Finally…_

 _The twisted cat and mouse game always starts the same_

 _First we're both down to play then somehow you go astray_

 _We went from nothing to something, liking to loving_

 _It's against the world and now we just fucking_

 _It's like I loved you so much and now I just hate you_

 _Feeling stupid for all the time I gave you_

 _I wanted all or nothing for us ain't no place in between_

 _By me believing what you say that you never mean_

 _Like it'll last forever but now forever ain't as long_

 _If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be stuck singing this song_

 _You were different from my last but now you got it mirrored_

 _And as it all plays out I see it couldn't be clearer_

 _Now sing_

The brown haired girl took over, rapping. Her skills exceeded that of professionals. The girl deserved to debut right now. Nana didn't have any rap verses in that song but the way that girl kept on rapping sounded like it was her own song. And when the redhead took over, it was Nana all over again.

 _You used to be thirsty for me_

 _But now you wanna be set free_

 _This is the web, web that you weave_

 _So baby now rest in peace (it's all over with now)_

 _I'm gonna love ya_

 _Until you hate me (right)_

 _And I'm gonna show ya (show 'em what show 'em what)_

 _What's really crazy_

 _You should've known better_

 _Than to mess with me, harder_

 _I'm gonna love you I'm gonna love you_

 _Gonna love you gonna love you_

 _Like a black widow, baby_

The song ended but the audience was still in a trance, their minds going back to when Nana was still shining brightly. They all felt like Nana woke up from that coma and had disguised herself as a college student to sing one more time. But they all knew that it was impossible.

When the two girls bowed, the audience roared with claps, whistles and shouts. Aquarius cleared her throat to gain the attention of the occupants. But Igneel held her back and turned the mike in front of him, on.

"How do you feel, girls?" he asked in a soft tone.

"I…feel more confident." Cana replied nervously, nothing like the girl who was rapping like a pro minutes ago.

"That's good, Cana. You showed your talent to all of us today and I have to admit that you were…" he paused, licking his suddenly dry lips. "…very amazing. I have to agree. I agree that you're capable of releasing your own album and make it a hit." He gave her an encouraging smile and the rapper couldn't help the excited grin.

The CEO then turned to the redhead, silently urging her to go in.

Erza just stared at him impassively. What was she supposed to say? She couldn't even think of anything to say. It was smart to stay like a mute than embarrass yourself by opening your mouth, right? So she did just that.

The judges grew impatient and Aquarius, being Aquarius, snapped.

"Disqualified!"

Erza's and Cana's eyes grew wide. Aries decided to clarify.

"Erza, I suggest if you're not confident enough then refrain from lip-syncing. You have dishonored Nana-san's legacy. Disqualified."

Erza couldn't believe her ears. She sang live…didn't she? Her eyes went to Scorpio for some help.

"Disqualified. We train our students to become professionals who will be proud to sing with their own voices rather than copying and lip-syncing. What you did today is unacceptable Erza. Your partner was talented and yet she failed because of your mistake. If you're not confident enough, you should have refrained from participating or maybe…" the silence was dreadful but the words hurt more. "…you should drop out."

Wasn't that a bit too harsh?

 _E-eh?_ She couldn't help the surprise she felt. _Why…?_ A little voice at the back of her mind screamed. It screamed at her to yell at them. To say that it wasn't true. She did sing live. She really did.

Why would they accuse her of lip-syncing?

* * *

 **A/N; I think you already know, right? *winks winks***

 **The songs I referred to in this chapter are;**

 **Dj got us falling in love by Usher Ft. Pitbull.**

 **Cupid by KARA. (A k-pop band I just love)**

 **Black widow by Iggy Azalea Ft. Rita Ora.**

 **Please read and review! Even though I got a lot of chapters done and ready to update I won't if I don't get support. Reviews are the main source of motivation, you know.**


	4. Chapter 4 Her Voice

**A/N; thank you all so much for the reviews follows and favorites :D Meant a lot to me.**

 **As for Erza standing up for herself –or anyone else doing that –you'll find out in the upcoming chapter. Maybe this one too!**

 **This chap's specially for my imotou-chan! Cause her exams coming up very soon and I wish you'll your best, pari forever ft. Make everyone proud, kay? ^^**

 **Oh and for the Bleach fans (IchiRuki), I got this new story called 'Winter Heart' published. My first Beach fic :)Could you guys go and check it out. Please? If you want :D**

Kill me. Heal me.

Chapter 4 ~Her Voice~

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me?" Igneel sat at chairman Makarov's office, elbows resting on his knees and fingers intertwined with a worried expression that accentuated the stressed wrinkles on his forehead.

"I thought you might want to see for yourself." The chairman replied from his seat, behind the mahogany desk.

Where was she? How had she been living? Why does she look like that? Does anyone know? Why does she look so weak, so skinny? He wanted to ask so many questions that his head felt like it may explode. But only one made its way out of his lips.

"She is an exact replica of Nana." His voice was barely above a whisper. The office was dead silent and the words echoed off the walls.

"But she's got her father's hair." Makarov chuckled, a nostalgic look on his face. "Do you remember the day when she was born?"

"Ah yes." A smile tugged at the corners of Igneel's lips. "Nana was as cool as a cucumber but Sora was panicking like madman…." The pink-haired man trailed off as memories of the past ravaged his mind.

"What happened?" he whispered, tears trying to break free. "I miss my little sister, brother."

Though not biological siblings, they have always considered each other as sister and brothers. Nana completed their little family. And then there was Ivan, Makarov's son and at the time Igneel got married, he had Natsu and Makarov got his grandson being the eldest of them and Nana gave birth to Erza. Everything was so perfect until one fateful day little Erza was robbed of her parents, father dead and mother unconscious for a whole week while the little girl was thrown away to god knows where and a little after a month later, Nana fell into a comatose state doctors suspected she may never wake from.

The news took the whole nation by surprise. People from all over the world sent their condolences but how would that wake Nana? The injuries to her, especially to the head was so serious by the time she was brought to the hospital, she was unrecognizable. It broke their hearts to see their sisterly figure lying there so helpless while they could only watch. They wanted to thrash and kill and drag the bastard who did that to her to hell and back and repeat the process all over again. Nana and her little family had been on a holiday to France when that incident occurred and no one knew who was behind it, _yet_.

It had been thirteen freaking years since that incident. It had been thirteen freaking years since Nana had been in comatose state. It had been thirteen freaking years since Erza was lost.

"We need to keep her identity as a secret." Igneel's voice brought back the old man from his thoughts. "It might be dangerous if we reveal it now."

"We wait until she debuts." Makarov concluded, knowing exactly what his brother was planning. And the CEO nodded.

"So I can take care of her then. And while she's here, she's under yours, brother." Igneel looked up to meet Makarov's eyes. "I'm not losing her again. I can't face Nana if I do."

Makarov nodded.

XXXX

It had been two days since the competition. Ryusei had won and she and Cana was disqualified. Because, according to the three, minus the eldest judge, she _lip-synced_. How the hell did they conclude that? And they called themselves professionals? Then how could they accuse her of something like that? Was it her fault that her voice sounded like Nana Scarlet?

She clenched her fists as she noticed the annoyed, hateful, infuriated glares sending her way as she walked to her locker. She noticed that one of the Kappa members, Ultear or so she was called had her locker next to hers. And today, the band was crowded beside her locker, giggling with their band mates. A white haired singer was leaning against her locker when she reached but the girl made no move to step away and giver her space.

So she waited. And waited and waited. But they didn't seem to move away. Instead, the blonde, Lucy pushed her by her elbow to get close to Mira, the ivory-haired girl.

"Excuse me." She cleared her throat and the attention was fully on her.

"Oh didn't see you there." Lucy said super sweetly and quickly grabbed Mira and pulled the girl out of her way like she had some sort of deadly, contagious disease.

Erza, having experienced worse, just ignored them and shoved her backpack inside, but it seems like they weren't ready to ignore _her_ yet.

"Daddy didn't buy you a backpack?" Ultear's overly exaggerated voice echoed throughout the hallway. "Aw! That's so sad. What about mommy? She didn't want to? Because you wanted to copy?"

Erza ignored them and turned to walk to her class but the dark-haired girl grabbed her by the collar and slammed her onto her locker.

"I asked you a question, you red freak!" she said through gritted teeth.

"Dead." Erza replied with an impassive face that made the other girls confuse.

Ultear slowly let go of her collar and Erza adjusted it and walked away like nothing had happened. The girls felt somewhat guilty, after all two of them had lost one of their parents, but not both and they could understand how hard it was to go on without even one.

But Ultear wasn't about to give up just yet.

XXXX

Jellal felt his head nodding off and his eyes drooping close. This was what happens during theory classes. Aquarius's voice was like the best sleeping pill for him. And suddenly, he jerked up when he felt something cold touch his forehead. The azure-haired boy frowned and looked down at his desk when he felt something fall down and saw the whiteboard marker the teacher was holding. There were giggles and snorts coming and he looked at his annoying band mate when Natsu burst out laughing loudly, pointing at his forehead.

Jellal grabbed his smartphone and looked at his face in the screen. There was a black dot right in the middle and he groaned while the students still kept laughing.

"Silence!" the blue haired teacher roared. "Your next exam is the semester-end evaluation and I need all the chapters in this book completely learned." She showed them their music textbook consisting, the history of music and how it revolutionized. And what's worse, they get a new text book each term.

"Moving on to the next chapter…." She began her lesson and Jellal felt himself dozing off again, trying his best to stay awake though. But it was futile as his head dropped to the desk with a loud thud.

Ouch!

And he immediately sat straight, trying to blink the sleep off while a pissed off Aquarius glared and his classmates tried to hold their laughter in.

"Jellal Fernandez?" she called super sweetly with a deadly expression on.

"Yes Miss Aquarius?" He asked sheepishly.

"Get out of my class!" she roared and the blue-haired vocalist was quick to heed her words as he darted out of the class immediately.

Jellal walked down the halls aimlessly, one hand in his dark jean's pocket whereas the other ruffling the blue locks at the back of his head every now and then. He let out a sigh. The next class was Aries-sensei's class and it was boring. They were learning some hard choreography but he had learned it the moment she taught it. And so, he thought about skipping the class.

Yes, he was skipping. He needed some sleep before lunch and before the fans could do any mental damage.

He hopped on the steps to the rooftop just when the bell ran and luckily enough was able to close the metal door seconds before the hallway was filled with students. The air was warm now; spring at its peak and the view was wonderful. He was five floors up and he could see the huge grassy field where the competition was held. Sighing in content, the blue haired singer walked to one of the benches and flopped on it, hands still in his pockets while the wind ruffled his hair. Leaning further back, he listened to the silent brush of leaves against each other, some birds in the nearby trees chirping and someone scribbling furiously.

Wait, what? He thought he was alone. Standing up, he began his quest to find the person who had intruded his moment of peace with nature. With slow and soundless steps, he moved around, and at the end of the whole line of benches, he heard the sound growing louder. Walking on his toes, Jellal nearly jumped out of his skin when he spotted someone sitting cross-legged on the ground with a notebook in hands, writing furiously.

It was the redhead in his class and the girl who got disqualified in the competition because of lip-syncing. Not caring about what she was doing, Jellal turned around and left the girl to her own matters. She wasn't someone of any importance to him. He had no business with her.

XXXX

Erza stopped writing when she felt that same feeling of being watched. Slowly, she turned her head to see what was behind her and her eyes yet again widened at the back of Ryusei's leader. What was he doing here when he had classes? She didn't know he skipped classes. He looked like he was an obedient student, being a leader and all. She watched him sit on one of the benches and turned back to her notebook where she was writing a song.

With a sigh, she began to write the rest of it, her mind drifting to the retreating figure of Jellal and how she caught him staring at her on the day of the competition. Why was he looking at her?

"Hey…." She nearly jumped at the voice.

Speak of the devil.

Jellal was sitting on the bench she was leaning against, looking like a curious cat. She blinked. Why was he talking to her?

"Why…umm…why did you lip-sync that day?" he asked, drying his lips and she saw why fans fall so hard for him. He was….handsome.

Erza frowned. Why was he asking that? Didn't the judges already informed that she did? But she didn't know why she felt the need to clarify.

All words died on her lips as she watched his curious emerald eyes glistening under the sun and she found herself shaking her head as if saying she didn't lip-sync. She couldn't eve form any words in front of him. She was just….awe-struck at the feelings running amok within her.

Jellal didn't say anything. He had no idea why he so slowly, like a turtle, crawled from one bench to another to ask her that question. He had been surprising himself a lot lately. He didn't know why he had been staring at her during that time at backstage. She wasn't that attractive. Beautiful, but she looked so skinny, so bony that it was all concealed.

But looking up close, he saw how blemish free and smooth her skin looked. How flawless she actually was and how many different shades of brown there actually is in her eyes.

Halt!

What?! Why was he thinking those things when he had a hot girlfriend, famous and enticing, one whom he loves dearly? Why were they staring at each other like they were filming some sort of romantic scene?

Jellal leaned back, clearing this throat and turned to face the grass field. He crossed his arms and decided to think about something else.

Unbeknownst to them, Ultear Milkovich stood by the door, watching them. She had gone looking for her boyfriend when he didn't show up for class and she as hell wasn't expecting to see something like this.

She could feel it. Ultear Milkovich could feel Jellal Fernandez slipping through her fingers.

Erza returned to her book when Jellal left. She lifted a hesitant hand to her chest, where her heart was beating a million times faster. Not like when she was running and the adrenaline kicking in with the force of her whole being that sent panic waves to her brain and her heart trying to pump its way out of her chest. No, it wasn't like this. She didn't know what she felt.

It was just….different.

He made her feel like this? Everything was so new but she knew she felt good. Like….happy. Yes, she felt happy.

And Erza felt herself wondering what the name of that emotion she was feeling was. Before she knew what she was doing, the redhead tore the lyrics she was writing and crumbled the paper and began writing a new one. Her hands working like a robot that was programmed to write only.

Unconscious to her, a gentle smile spread across her face.

XXXX

Jellal sighed. He had been doing that a lot lately. One leg spread on the couch while the other on the back rest, the blue haired singer viewed different channels, trying to capture something interesting. But unfortunately for him, there wasn't and he was bored to death. All the others were practicing upstairs in their own studio and he already knew everything. He had tried calling Ultear but the woman didn't pick her phone even after calling ten times and he really has no idea what she was pissed about this time. Maybe she was just busy, with the exams coming up and all. But they still got another month. And it wasn't like Kappa needed to perfect anything. They already were perfect, in everything they do.

When he tuned into yet another channel, Jellal shot straight up. There was nobody in the ground floor, he was sure. Except for him and the guys were upstairs. But he could swear he saw something move in the hallway.

Something _red_.

Grabbing his remote, he took the small two steps up and walked towards the hallway. He turned his head towards the small room where the door was shut and he turned swiftly, as if he might miss whoever or whatever he saw if he was any slower, towards the kitchen but found none.

Just in case there might be something, he made his way to the kitchen and turned the lights on. He frowned when he found nothing out of ordinary. Turning the bright lights off, he walked back to the couch and flopped down on it, unceremoniously.

Erza slowly moved away from her door when she heard him turn the TV on again. She heaved a sigh of relief and jumped on her bed, a tint of pink on her cheeks as she hugged her pillows. She wanted some water and just when she opened the door thinking that she was alone, she found the leader sprawled on the couch and she'd run back to her room as fast as she could.

And damn, he looked hot, shirtless.

She smiled wider and hid her face in the pillow, her heart beating so fast.

XXXX

Erza sat up straight when she heard loud noises outside. It was like her home was being raided. But then again, Ryusei was partying every night in the most unusual ways. So it was no surprise that she woke up five minutes before twelve to the sound of laughing, and people shouting.

But tonight, she heard some girls too. It was always the members of Ryusei but she heard members of Kappa talking too. What were they doing here? Don't they have some sort of curfew?

And her throat felt so dry. She should have just gone to the kitchen and hid there until Jellal left. And when the noises died down, followed by the sound of the door being locked, Erza opened her door slowly and took a peak outside just to be safe.

What met her eyes froze her, the thirst burning her throat long forgotten as she just gazed at what was in front of her.

She felt…betrayed.

Betrayed?

Why? When she clearly knew everything. When she had seen things with her own eyes. When she knew that she won't be the one. When she knew she had zero to no chance when it came to _him_. But still, she couldn't help that fluttering feeling blooming within her.

Was that why? Was that why she felt so disappointed? So dejected?

XXXX

When a slow song began to play, he found himself dozing off. Just when his eyes shut close, the door opened and the sound of feet hitting against wood made him jolt up straight. He was about to pummel the person who disturbed his sleep to the ground when he noticed his girlfriend standing atop the stairs, hands on her wide hips, wearing the most provocative dress and he just couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"You know!" Natsu screamed coming downstairs which seemed to hold some secret meaning as they all darted into the kitchen.

Jellal followed groggily and by the time he reached, the singers already were turning to leave with Natsu in the lead.

"To the yard!" he pointed his index finger forward, like a captain commanding his army. And they followed, much to his surprise.

Jellal started to follow again but when he reached the door frame, a slender hand stopped him by his chest. He didn't miss the wink Lucy sent Ultear as they walked out.

"Where are they going?" Jellal asked, hands going around his girlfriend's hips, bringing her close as he watched the now empty hallway and the door that was always locked.

"Yard." Ultear shrugged and turned his face towards her by his chin

"Why? And why aren't we going?"

Ultear shrugged again and Jellal knew something was up.

"We…" she took a step closer to him, pressing her body against his. "…are staying here." Her lips were on his, eyes closed and hands resting on his shoulders lazily.

He couldn't help but return her kiss as he brought her even closer; the height difference making him bent his head to reach her. It was their first. The first time they had an intimate moment throughout their relationship. Unbelievable, but true.

There was no fluttering in his stomach. His body wasn't on fire. He didn't feel the excited adrenaline course through his body. Things that were supposed to happen or so his songs told him didn't happen. The kiss, he felt nothing except pleasure. And that wasn't what he wanted.

There was a feeling akin to betrayal burning in the pit of his stomach. But to whom and why…exactly?

Ultear picked her smartphone and looked at the time on the screen, lips still locked with his. Putting the phone back in her pocket, she gently pulled Jellal away.

"Happy birthday." She whispered against his lips.

He couldn't bring himself to smile but he still forced one corner of his lips upwards, hoping she'll be convinced. But this was Ultear. It had always been so hard to satisfy her. So hard to keep her from suspecting him, frowning on him like he had gone to another woman behind her back when he was as loyal as a pup to her.

Jellal decided to blame it all on that feeling inside him that burned like a wildfire, this time.

XXXX

Erza closed the door slowly and leaned against it, a bittersweet smile adorning her features. She and Jellal barely knew each other. They didn't even have a proper conversation. Then why? Damn it why? Why was he so influential over her? How could he make her feel so many things just by one look? By mere words? How come she never felt these things before? Why now? Why him, who doesn't even belong to her? Why?

Was this? Was this what they call…

…love?

When she heard the door close again, she opened her door and examined her surroundings. All the lights were off and there wasn't a single soul in the house. She slowly walked into the hallway and was met with an amazing sight. There were no lights lit up in the kitchen either, and through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she saw Kappa and Ryusei celebrating a birthday with a chocolate cake on a table in the middle. The plum tree was decorated in different ornaments and the 'Happy Birth Day Jellal' was lit up on the back wall.

The redhead leaned against the frame, beside the beige curtains, watching their friendly interaction. A bored Jellal was forced to eat a piece of cake by the girls and ended up smearing his face with it. Everyone erupted in laughter and Jellal couldn't help but chuckle. She could see that he was grateful for the surprise though he tried his best to look annoyed.

And the next moment, everybody was dragged into a cake fight, instigated by Natsu and Gray. Erza watched them laugh and get covered in frosting and cakes with a small smile on her face. She never had friends like that and she briefly wondered if she ever will have friends like that. She could only hope. That was something she had been doing all her life and life had never been better. She didn't have to run the whole night, trying to find safety. She didn't have to dig places in search of food. She had a bed to sleep now. And she wouldn't even trade the world to ask for anything more.

But…

Suddenly, with a cake coated hand, Natsu slapped Jellal on the face, forcing his face to turn in the direction where she was standing. With a slight gasp, the redhead turned around, banging her back on the corner, holding the drapes to cover her. Even though the lights were off, there was a huge chance that he might have seen her when she stood so close to the glass.

Taking no chances that could risk being seen; Erza quickly walked away from the windows and walked over to the fridge. She filled her water bottle and grabbed another bottle, drinking until her burning throat was satisfied.

XXXX

Jellal could swear he saw someone standing by the kitchen window but the moment he blinked, there wasn't anybody there. He felt goosebumps rise on his skin when the possibility that the house might haunted crossed his mind.

"I'm going to the bathroom!" he shouted over the loud music and the others nodded.

Patting his head internally for a job well done at ditching his own birthday party and hunting down the mysterious figure in his house, Jellal jogged in to the porch and punched the keys to unlock. When the sound of the door opening met his ears, he smirked widely and did a victory jig. He was going to show the ghost that haunted his house just how wrong it was to come barging into his house.

Just when he crossed the threshold, he stopped dead in his tracks. He saw the person he least expected standing frozen, just like him by the door frame of Laxus's room, holding a water bottle.

"What are you doing here?" he asked when he found his voice.

Erza opened her mouth to reply but no words came as she watched him walk towards her. She hesitantly lifted her arm and pointed her index finger towards her room, hoping he'd understand her. Jellal raised a perfectly shaped brow, stopping a foot away from her and turned his towards the direction she pointed.

And then it clicked.

"You…you're the maid?" he asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

She nodded, averting her gaze from his face and looking at something, anything behind him.

Her lack of verbal response made the blue haired singer wonder if she was mute. And then the possibility it may be true gave strength when he remembered how the judges said she lip-synced at the competition and he had never heard or seen her speak to anyone.

Was she a mute?

He knew he had been staring at her as he got lost in his thoughts when the girl in front of her began to squirm uncomfortably, lowering her gaze to her feet.

"I'm sorry if we disturbed you." With that he turned to head to the stairs, to his room.

"Jellal." Her voice stopped him dead in his tracks, his heart racing up miles and miles and miles until he could hear it in his own ears. The way she called his name sent shivers running down the length of his spine, a good sort.

"Happy birthday."

Her voice. It sounded so serene, so calm, so beautiful and so melodic he wanted to hear her calling his name over and over again.

That voice gave him so much warmth and he could practically hear the kindness it held.

"When was the last time you spoke?" he asked, regaining his composure. The musician turned around to see her going back but stopped when his voice reached her.

She turned her head in his direction and sent him a small smile. And his heartbeat rose to triple digits. He could only watch as she walked back to her room and listened to the sound of the door closing with closed eyes. He let out a sigh and walked back to his party.

That night Jellal drowned in the most peaceful sleep he had in his life since his parent's car crash.

XXXX

School next day was worse than Erza had expected. Sure, last night had been one of the happy moments in her life so the following day should definitely be worse. That's how it always happened. Ultear's die-hard fans had picked up on their idol's hatred for her and began to attack her using all pathetic excuses possible. Like putting glue on her books and painting her locker with 'Lip-sync-er!' and other trashes in it. She had never experienced anything like this back in France. They always mind their own businesses.

But then again, things weren't happening like they did back there. But isn't this going a bit too far? She could take any verbal attacks or facial attacks like glares. But destroying her things, books and all, she cannot forgive them. She has to report this. But the teachers too were angry at her.

Now what?

While she was reading a paper that was placed neatly in her locker by none other than the face of Kappa, she failed to notice the purple-haired assistant of the chairman standing beside her, reading the note in her hands.

 _I thought I told you clearly to stay away from Jellal! Perhaps the warning wasn't enough? Don't provoke me red freak! I can do things you cannot even begin to imagine._

 _Stay_ away _from him!_

Erza crumpled the piece of paper and shoved it into the trashcan.

"The chairman would like to see you, student." she nearly jumped at the sweet voice but remained passive on the outside and followed Kinana, the assistant while ignoring the death glares from Kappa fans.

The walk to the chairman's office was a bit longer than she had thought and by the time they reached the mahogany doors Erza couldn't help the relief that flooded through her. Kinana knocked on the wood once and opened the door gesturing her to follow.

"Sit." Makarov said with a smile and rose from his seat behind his desk and sat on the couch opposite where she was seated.

Kinana bowed and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"How is college so far?" Makarov asked, unable to keep the smile on his face away. Every time he saw his goddaughter, he felt so proud that she had made through so many hardships at the same time he felt his heart break.

"Good, sir." He didn't fail to notice the hesitance in her voice and he already knew why.

It wasn't like the judges could be blamed for doing that. Her voice sounded exactly like Nana and they had no idea who she is.

"I didn't bring you here to talk about college, Erza." His tone took on a serious edge and Erza felt she like she should be nervous. "It's a very personal matter I want to talk about." He said in a low voice, watching her intently.

"What is it?" she found herself questioning before she could stop.

"Would you like to see your mother?"

XXXX

The teacher's words barely registered in her mind as she sat in class, her mind still trying to wrap itself around what the chairman had said. He had given her sometime to think and thinking she was. Her head felt like it was going to burst. All this time, all this freaking damn time she had a mother?! And she never even tried to search for her? Didn't even care about how she had been living? Didn't care if she was surviving? All these years she had been living like a zombie, like a ghost, living for the sake of it because she wouldn't die and she had a mother? What kind of mother doesn't save her kid from the hellhole she had been living in and didn't at least check on her? All this time, she was alive and she didn't even know. And now, now that she had come back, her _mother_ wants to take her back.

But, why couldn't she get angry? Why couldn't she hate her like she has to? Why? Why did she want to see her face and shroud herself in her embrace?

It was a piano theory lesson today and Jellal was in a good mood. Last night was fun and he slept well and he woke up to a delicious breakfast and the lesson was interesting, his fans still love him. What else could go wrong? He felt peaceful and all smiles until a certain redhead walked into the class looking like a zombie. Her face looked paler and her body was bonier than usual.

Despite all the angry glances people sent her way, she took a seat beside him, the only seat available without as much as a peep at him. He had thought she'd be more forward with him after last night's encounter but she didn't even look up at him. Or anyone else for that matter. She just looked straight ahead at the teacher, her eyes following his every move like an automaton but he knew she wasn't listening. Something must have happened. And then he saw her fingers trembling uncontrollably and she clenched her fists, maybe to reduce the shaking. Something must have gone deeply wrong for the otherwise impassive redhead.

"Did you hear?" he heard someone whisper from behind. "That red freak was hitting on Jellal-kun." If they think he wouldn't hear them, then they must be rather stupid for he heard their conversation loud and clear.

"Ultear-san warned her but she still kept her trick on. I can't believe how shameless she is!" another one, beside the girl behind him whispered.

"She's just low trash! How dare she! After lip-syncing Nana-san's songs like."

"I know right. That bitch is a total wannabe."

"Now girls!" Jellal turned his head to the right when Ultear spoke, facing the gossiping girls. "Don't say that. You shouldn't be so harsh with your words."

It may sound like sweet advice but the malice and evil glint shining vaguely in her eyes wasn't lost on the blunette. He knew she had a hand in whatever was going in between first years right now. Jellal knew his girlfriend would go to the world's end if it meant to keep him by her side.

XXXX

When the last bell for the day rang throughout the campus, Erza quickly darted out of the class and headed for the chairman's office. She had decided. After much thought and brain wrecking, she decided that she'd go. She'd go and meet the person who gave birth to her.

Because she was her mother and even if it is for once, she wanted to hear her voice, listen to the soothing words uttered by her, feel her embrace and curl up in her warmth.

* * *

 **A/N; so there you go! Next chapter is my favorite. It's the end of semester exams! . kyah! I loved writing that chap. So you guys make me, _force_ me to update. The time depends on you (late or soon, I mean). Fewer reviews mean I'll update the chapter late. *shrugs innocently* **

**Please read and review! I love to hear your thoughts :D**


	5. Chapter 5 One Last Time

**A/N: you guys….. *teary eyed* arigatou so much much . those were some awesome reviews!**

 **Like I said before, this is my favorite chapter :D Yay?**

 **Enjoy!**

Kill me. Heal me

Chapter 5~One Last Time~

* * *

"Holy in dragon of name the flying is that what oh my god is!" Natsu fell back, his rear hitting painfully on one of the edges of the staircase that lead down to the living room.

The poor roseate shook like a leaf when he noticed a figure lying on the couch, a bony hand hanging out. The others immediately entered the house, hearts pounding when they heard Natsu's word-twisted yell. Natsu wasn't one for screaming like a little girl and expecting something worse, the boys strolled towards the trembling vocalist who was quick to hide behind them, poking his head in between Jellal and Laxus.

The boys looked upon a wasted red haired woman on their couch with seven empty bottles of liquor with one not yet opened on their coffee table. How could one drink so much? And by the look of it she must have chugged down bottle after bottle since there was no shot glass or even a regular glass in sight.

Jellal heaved a sigh. He knew one day, sooner or later she'll be found out. No matter how much she tried to hide from them. She did a quite good job at that for the last two and half months.

"You don't seem surprised." Laxus said to his blue haired friend.

"She's our _in-house_ maid." He replied casually. "I saw her last night and questioned her but she seemed very insistent on remaining hidden."

Natsu frowned, head shaking to and from Laxus and Jellal. Gray and Gajeel remained silent.

"In-house maid?" Natsu questioned standing upright when he deemed that the girl was not a threat. "So that means she had been living here all this time?"

"Yeah."

The boys stood silent for a minute and Natsu hollered down and jumped on the couch next to the one Erza lay.

"Oy red! Get up!" he kicked the couch and the girl moved her hand but didn't wake up.

"Stop it, Natsu." Jellal walked calmly and took the other couch opposite of Natsu and on the right of where Erza lay. The others followed in suit.

It wasn't a big deal. It wasn't the first time they'd seen a girl lying on their couch. At the time around when they debuted, their female fans had always managed to stalk them and broke into their house. It took a couple of cops to come and get them out every time one managed to do so. And knowing that the redhead on their couch was their maid who cleaned up all their mess every day, cooked for them, did their laundry, rather than panic, they felt a sort of respect for the girl. Most of their caretakers quit because of their messes and how often they destroyed things, especially Gray and Natsu. But she was young and she was putting up with all their shit. No one survived them for more than a month. Speaking of young…..

"Doesn't she go to our school?" Gray asked looking at the redhead.

Natsu grabbed a cushion and brushed the strands on her face away to get a better look at her.

"Wasn't she that chick who lip-synced?" Gajeel pointed out. It felt like that incident described her best. Everyone in the campus knew when anyone says _lip-sync_.

"Ah. Cana's partner." Laxus answered.

A mutual feeling passed between the boys as they turned back to the flat-screen TV. She had been trying so damn hard clearing the mess they made at home and trying to keep up with the classes back at college. They had seen the way the students look at her but they haven't given that much thought about it.

Just then a loud gasp was heard when the TV went silent and they jerked their heads to see Erza jolt up, panting heavily.

She calmed her breath and flung her feet out of the couch, landing swiftly on the soft carpet. Her hands went for the remaining bottle of liquor on the table when her head was attacked with the recent memories, failing to take note of the people surrounding her. Uncorking the bottle, she closed her eyes as she chugged down the entire contents of it.

"Hey hey hey…" Laxus's warning tone went unheard to her ears as her mind was attacked with a strong wave of recollection.

After she met with the chairman, he took her to his car and drove off. Erza was still unfamiliar with a lot of things so she had no idea where they were going until the chauffer drove into Magnolia General Hospital. The hospital was huge but Erza had no time to marvel at the beauty as Makarov asked her to follow him closely. They took the elevator to the seventh floor where the VIP rooms were.

They rounded a hallway where only one room was in the corner. She was still confused until they came to stop at the door but when Kinana opened the door, her confusion increased tenfold, no, thousand fold.

Why was she at the room of Nana Scarlet?

Makarov asked her to come inside when she stood at the doorway dumbstruck and she slowly walked forward while Kinana closed the door. The redhead stood beside the bed where the most famous, beautiful and most of all, most talented singer in Japan lay, her face covered in an oxygen mask that seemed to be too big for her. There were so many tubes connected to her, doing several different tasks but her eyes lingered on the heartbeat monitor, looking at the lines pass in different ranges but not straightening. Her heart clenched at the thought of it stopping and closed her eyes, heaving a sigh. She doesn't know what her relationship with her was or if she even had any. She was here to meet her mother. And where was she?

Nana couldn't possibly…

"She's your mother, Erza."

…be her mother.

But she is.

This was her mother. _Mother_. The word gave her so much warmth.

"Erza Scarlet. Your name is."

The redhead took a step closer, carving the face of her mother into her memory, engraving it into her heart. Memorizing every contour, her high cheek bones, long lashes, fair, smooth blemish-free skin she wanted to touch so badly. Lips that looked exactly like her, coral shaped and full. She looked so bony and deprived of nutrients but she still managed to look so beautiful, so angelic, her blonde hair still shining and full of life. She looked like she was just sleeping if she were to look at her without the tubes and oxygen mask.

 _Mother…mother…mother…_

"While your mother, father and you were in France on a holiday, someone attacked your house. Your father managed to rescue you both but not his…own life. When your mother tried to hide you and send you away before they could find you…which she succeeded and ended up in this state after a month. In a comatose state that doctors have no hope that she'll wake from."

The chairman explained everything slowly, giving her the time to stay by her mother while listening to everything intently. She understood now. She could understand now why her parents couldn't come and save her.

But that didn't lessen the pain she felt, to see her mother in a state like that. What sort of punishment was this?

She slammed the empty glass bottle down, her grip on it so strong her knuckles turned white. Damn the consequences, why couldn't she put her surname after her name? For the sake of her safety, Makarov had replied. It was too dangerous, he said. She chuckled loudly, making the men in the room share glances with each other. She wanted to cry but the tears didn't fall no matter how much her heart broke. Who will feel happy to see your mother, for the first time in your life, in a coma?

And that was why she had insisted on going home alone so she could buy some liquor and forget everything for the moment. But the alcohol doesn't support her decision either, the bloody thing.

She looked up when someone cleared his throat and through her fuzzy vision, she was able to make out the members of Ryusei. The alcohol seemed to wash away as she quickly muttered an apology and grabbed the empty bottle and took wobbly steps towards the kitchen.

She dumped the bottles in the trashcan and drowned a bottle of water from the refrigerator in one go. Her walk became somewhat straight as she made her way back to her room. In the middle of the whole way she felt her stomach churn and in a rush she darted to her room, closing the door loudly and flopped on the bathroom floor, hugging the toilet seat as she dumped the contents of her stomach in it. Washing her face and mouth, she looked up at the wide mirror on her wall.

She had decided. She's going to make her mother's legacy live on. From her children and their children and on and on and on.

She won't let her mother's legacy die.

First, she needed to pass the end of semester evaluation.

XXXX

All the students were busy preparing for the semester-end evaluation, working their butts off. Ryusei and Kappa were no exception. They were celebrities who gained international fans and awards but they aren't perfect either. In case of using brain Natsu, Gray and Gajeel were hopeless while Jellal, Lucy and Levy were geniuses. The others could get through with a bit of studying and thankfully, their president and Natsu's father had declined any offers to model or any advertisement so they could give time to their studies, stacking up to the list of gratitude.

And so here they found themselves at the huge library in the college campus where fans were giggling away at a good distance not brave enough to come near them. Their concentration broke when they heard a voice nearby. Especially Jellal and Ultear.

"Say Erza, what are you scribbling?" Cana asked, cupping her cheeks, elbows on the smooth table.

"Something." She replied not looking up as she continued to write down.

"I know it's something but _what_ is that something?" the brunette blew a strand of brown away from her face.

And before Erza could retort her brown haired friend snatched the book away from her and began reading loudly while Erza tried to shush her in a hushed voice but to no avail.

"I should have done you better, cause you don't wanna liar…" the brunette read from her book. "Hm? You're writing lyrics?"

Erza nodded and Ultear fought the urge to snicker which gained a warning glance from all her friends sitting around her. The dark haired singer ignored it and turned around to face Erza with a smirk.

"Oh? Are you sure you aren't going to copy Nana-san's lyrics this time?"

"Ultear." Jellal said in a warning tone, eyeing his girlfriend who pouted.

"You're ruining the fun." She whispered. Just when she was about to utter another insulting remark, Natsu hissed.

"I think that is more than enough Ultear." The way his voice came so sharp and angry had the dark haired singer confused. She blinked at her band members who ignored her completely, especially Ryusei.

Jellal was acting weird too and the air became tense the moment she turned around to face the redhead. Kappa's reaction was expected since they never supported her when she was picking up on other students. But Ryusei, their demeanor was defensive and protective. Like they actually gave a damn about the redhead.

What did she miss?

XXXX

It was the last day of the end of semester exams. The practical exam day. The judges were the five eldest people of the board of directors who had a vast knowledge of music and their own experiences in the industry. Every single one was dressed up beautifully and they were all testing either this or that while some fidgeted and shook nervously.

Erza felt nothing. She was going to sing her feelings on the stage, inspired by her mother and Jellal. But she'd die before she admits that _Jellal_ was some sort of inspiration for her. After his birthday night, she had been writing down the lyrics of her song after erasing the one she wrote on the rooftop. Every single word referred to him no matter how much she rewrote it. And when she met her mother, the inspiration intensified.

There were no partners this time. Everyone was alone but Cana was by her side, rambling. She noted that was a nervous habit of hers. And when they announced that everyone go inside the auditorium, her brown haired friend gave her hand a squeeze and a nervous smile.

"You'll be fine." She tried to reassure the nervous brunette.

When she was walking through the doors, she met Jellal who was walking out.

"Good luck." He whispered as they passed.

Erza could swear that she saw him smile. A genuine smile. Natsu came to her and sat on her left while Cana took her right. She was confused as to why they were acting so friendly with her. The hall buzzed with excitement.

"Are you nervous?" Natsu asked, the excitement he felt written all over his face. Erza shook her head.

"So what's the name of your song?"

"Something."

"Classified, eh?" he grinned from ear to ear. "All the more reason to get excited."

After a while the exam began. She had to admit, her college mates were pretty good dancers and singers. Some failed while others tried to hit notes they couldn't sing without running out of breath and ruining the whole performance. The marking criterion was way strict than the competition and they all knew it. Maybe that was why some people didn't had the courage to even open their mouths and ended up crying on the stage while some were overconfident ending up in their downfall.

Natsu shouted from the top of his voice when Lucy Heartfilia took the stage making Erza wonder if his vocals were going to be ok, but then again she had learned that he was a monster.

Lucy was great. Her dance was sweet and girly matching perfectly with the theme she had chosen. Mira was the same if not a little better than Lucy and she wouldn't have expected nothing less from the lead vocalists of Kappa.

Ultear was all dances and less singing since she didn't have as a strong vocal as Mira and Lucy and she ran out of breath quickly. Levy and Juvia's rap was amazing. Their voices were girly yet strong and the emotions flowed smoothly, making it interesting.

Cana was up next and Erza was eager to hear her rap. And just like she predicted, Cana had the whole auditorium under her charm. Her voice strong, expressing all the emotions in the lyrics so expertly people couldn't help but let their jaws drop. Rumors that she'll definitely debut this semester started right then and there. Gajeel's rapping brought the girls into a state of a coma; they just stared, without blinking, without moving. The same went with the rest of Ryusei. Natsu, she didn't know had a great voice that could hit higher notes than Mira. Gray had the girls enthralled while Laxus's charm had the same effect as Gajeel's.

But then, Jellal took the spotlight. And the occupants roared making the place vibrate. He was like all of Ryusei combined.

"Silence!" Gran Doma, one of the judges and older member of the school board of directors roared into the microphone making everybody wince. The mike was there for a reason, why did he have to scream into it?

"Jellal Fernandez." A pink haired woman, whose name was previously announced at the beginning of the exam as Porlyusica called. "Name of your song?"

"Thinking out loud." He replied into the mike, his baritone voice echoing throughout the hall and Erza felt her body on fire. Her eyes checked him out.

He wore a pair of black skinny jeans with a pair of black sneakers with white on the edge and a short sleeved, V-necked black shirt. His hair unruly and messy giving him more of a sexy look. All in all, he looked damn handsome. Erza cleared her throat mentally.

She wasn't checking him out. Not really. She was just looking if he wore the correct attire.

What the hell?

So far, no one had announced that there'd be a certain dress code.

When the music began, Jellal took all of them to another universe where it was only him and him only. He held so much power over people with his looks, voice and that damn expressions. Some fainted when he smirked while others downright drooled.

 _When your legs don't work like they used to before  
And I can't sweep you off of your feet  
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love  
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks_

 _And darling I will be loving you 'til we're 70  
And baby my heart could still fall as hard at 23  
And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways  
Maybe just the touch of a hand  
Oh me I fall in love with you every single day  
And I just wanna tell you I am_

 _So honey now  
Take me into your loving arms  
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars  
Place your head on my beating heart  
I'm thinking out loud  
Maybe we found love right where we are_

He danced with the mike stand using it as his partner and made the girls swoon with hearts in their eyes. He was being worshipped up there. Like he was some sort of an idol –well he _is_ an idol. It was so easy for him to sweep them off their feet. He was like cupid, shooting arrows into girls' hearts, making them fall in love right then and there. The little devil and his godly beauty, he was going to be the death of the female population.

The moment he finished and bowed the crowd erupted in yet another roar, their voices reverberating outside.

Gran Doma silenced them again as Porlyusica called another name that made the whole audience fall into dead silence.

"Erza…" she searched for a family name but found none and she called again, more strongly this time. "Erza."

The redhead stood up and walked over to the stage where Jellal handed her the mike with a wink. All eyes were on her as she stood in the middle of the stage, mike in her hands. There was no nervousness or anxiety this time.

"Name of the song?" Porlyusica asked, without looking up at her. In fact, none of the judges did.

"One last time." She said softly into the mike.

"You had no help?" another judge, Jura Neekis asked, frowning over a stack of papers which Erza guessed was the bio they all wrote about the song they sing or dance to.

"No sir." Erza replied in a meek voice.

"You wrote your own lyrics, composed and perfected your own song. Let's see what you got." Porlyusica rolled a pen within her fingers, none of them still looking up at her.

"Begin."

The music began, soothing any tense nerves in her body. Confidence welled within her as she opened her mouth to sing.

 _I was a liar_

 _I gave into the fire_

 _I know I should've fought it_

 _At least I'm being honest_

 _Feel like a failure_

 _'Cause I know that I failed you_

 _I should've done you better_

 _'Cause you don't want a liar_

All five judges' heads snapped up. Shock was evident in their eyes and faces as they gaped at her as she dominated their hearts with her melodic, calm, soothing and enchantingly beautiful voice.

 _And I know, and I know, and I know_

 _She gives you everything but, boy I couldn't give it to you_

 _And I know, and I know, and I know_

 _That you got everything_

 _But I got nothing here without you_

 _So one last time_

 _I need to be the one who takes you home_

 _One more time_

 _I promise after that, I'll let you go_

 _Baby, I don't care if you got her in your heart_

 _All I really care is you wake up in my arms_

 _One last time_

 _I need to be the one who takes you home_

There were no words that could describe what she was doing to them. This time, there was no mistake that she wasn't lip-syncing. They never heard the song before. And to think that she did everything by herself, everyone was rendered speechless. She was beyond genius, beyond any legacy, beyond perfection.

It was mutual between everyone in the hall that she deserved to debut.

 _I don't deserve it_

 _I know I don't deserve it_

 _But stay with me a minute_

 _I swear I'll make it worth it_

 _Can't you forgive me?_

 _At least just temporarily_

 _I know that this is my fault_

 _I should have been more careful_

 _And I know, and I know, and I know_

 _She gives you everything but, boy I couldn't give it to you_

 _And I know, and I know, and I know_

 _That you got everything_

 _But I got nothing here without you_

 _So one last time_

 _I need to be the one who takes you home_

 _One more time_

 _I promise after that, I'll let you go_

 _Baby, I don't care if you got her in your heart_

 _All I really care is you wake up in my arms_

 _One last time_

 _I need to be the one who takes you home_

The crowd was silent for a good full minute until they erupted in applause and shouts. Erza smiled, like a real smile and Makarov couldn't help the tear that escaped his right eye, heart welling up with pride.

 _You should see this Nana. Your daughter dominates like you, my dear_.

Jellal watched as the wind from the fan on the stage swirled around her, her black dress rising up, showing her lean and long legs. But his eyes were glued on that smile she had on her pretty face. It was enchanting, beautiful, and so genuine, so caring and so…warm. Jellal had a vague feeling that she sang some parts especially for him. But how could, one's voice be so alluring, demanding attention?

He knew, this would be a huge turning point in her life.

XXXX

That night, Erza was invited to the 'popular kid's' party. Before she left school, the girls had come to her and gave one of their invitations. She had no interest in going; instead she had planned to sleep the night off. They apparently, wanted to celebrate the end of semester, which she clearly found very inconsequential.

Of course, that wasn't what happened.

Just as she stepped out of the large gates; Cana pulled her into a bone crushing hug saying that she was the most amazing singer in the whole world and Erza couldn't help but smile. She was such a good friend.

"Let's go shopping. We need a dress to go to the party." She exclaimed, holding out the invitation and grabbing hers.

Okay, not.

And that was how Erza found herself standing in the front yard of a huge modern-Victorian house where first years of Fairy high/college of Arts & music were scattered all over, wearing the most provocative dress she had worn in her entire life; a halter necked sleeveless black crop top and matching high waisted mini-skirt that showed an inch of her smooth midriff and back and her legs. And she kept tugging on the skirt, trying to cover up her legs. Cana had insisted that she wear a stiletto-heeled platforms and she immediately panicked. How the hell was she going to wear such high heels when she hasn't even worn a _one_ -inch heel, her whole life? So she just settled with her black doll shoes.

And in her opinion, the brunette had taken way too extreme measured in her makeup. She didn't really like the red lipstick and barely visible black and silver eye shadow with mascara, extra-longing her already quite long lashes.

And the brown haired devil wasn't even in sight. Yes, she was mad. How could she just leave her there, all alone, in a foreign place! She never went to any parties and she as hell didn't know how parties here worked. Turning around, she saw people going into the house.

It was the Mikazuchi's household and it was Kagura Mikazuchi, the youngest and only daughter of the family who invited her. She could hear the loud music all the way from the inside. She slowly made her way towards the large ashen doors and stepped in. the moment she did…

"Hey Erza! You look hot!" a girl with green hair winked at her, dancing with a black haired guy. They were her classmates, Bisca and Alzack if she remembered correctly. And they never said a word to her before.

"Wow! Somebody's looking gorgeous!" another girl came towards her, dancing to the beat, her blue eyes twinkling. "I'm Jenny!" she extended her hand and Erza took it. "I already know you." She said when the redhead opened her mouth to introduce herself. "Erza." The blonde winked and danced away.

She had no idea how to cope with the sudden changes.

"Erza! I loved your song!"

"I'll be your biggest fan when you debut."

It was Erza-san this or Erza that. She really had no idea what to do with the popularity and she needed a drink. Taking the stairs to the second floor where she saw people with expensive alcoholic drinks. Quickly making her way towards the drinks table, Erza grabbed a glass of tequila and drowned it in one shot. Her alcohol tolerance was no joke.

"My my, eager aren't we?" a sweet voice spoke from behind and the redhead turned with another glass of tequila, coming face to face with the beautiful whitehead of Kappa.

"Mira…" she said softly.

"Tequila?" she beamed, showing her straight, perfect white teeth.

Erza nodded.

"I can't have more than one shot of it without getting wasted." The singer giggled and Erza didn't know what to do, so she just remained blank.

"Care to dance?" without waiting for her answer, the ivory haired girl looped her arm with hers and dragged her away to the first floor, where everybody was dancing.

The redhead, knowing there was no escape, drowned the glass while climbing downstairs and slammed it down on a waiter's tray taking hold of a bottle of tequila on it. The waiter narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything.

"Hey! Look who's here." Lucy chirped dancing.

"Hello Erza-chan!" Levy waved at her and Juvia sent a wink. Ultear was nowhere in sight.

She needed to drink away all those emotions bubbling inside her. Somehow, this all felt right. She felt like she belonged there with them. Like it had been her place all along but she knew better than to believe some feeling that had been brewing within her lately. The light was dim, barely able to make out the people and when Erza uncorked her bottle, the girls cheered. Without giving a shit about anyone, she brought the rim of the bottle to her lips, the cold sensation sending shivers down her spine.

As the liquid began to flow down her throat her body began to move to the beats coming out of the speakers all around the house. She hasn't quite felt like this before.

Jellal came late. He had planned to stay home until Simon Mikazuchi, the eldest and only son of the Mikazuchi family insisted non-stop that he comes. Having no one else, even Erza, at home, he decided to make an appearance knowing that Ultear would be there, no matter what. And he hadn't particularly liked parties since she always gets drunk and throws herself at any random man. And she accused him of cheating on her. Said that he went to others. He really didn't know why he kept up with her. Maybe the love he had was too strong? Maybe that was why he compelled himself to drown a whole bottle of Vodka.

Anyways, he took the steps to the first floor and what he saw, stopped him dead in the tracks. She had never been to any of Aries's classes and yet she could dance better than Ultear herself. The way her hips swayed, skirt whirled around her, showing off her smooth thighs and the way she arch her neck and…

"Oh god…" he groaned when he saw the half empty bottle of tequila in her hands. She was just as drunk as he was. But he knew she was a monster when it came to alcohol tolerance, much like him.

Walking through the dancing bodies, he grabbed her upper arm and yanked the alcoholic drink out of her strong grasp. And when she turned around, shoulder-length hair slapping him on the face as she did while some stuck on her lips, he felt his whole body on fire. A good sort of fire that made him excited.

A hand rose up, unconsciously brushing the stray strands away from her face and her half-lidded gaze, god; she looked so damn sexy and alluring. Her full lips clad in dark red, accentuating her scarlet locks looked so daring as it parted slightly, giving him a small view of her perfectly white teeth. The way she moved, her body was practically begging for him to touch her, to feel those curves.

His fingers brushed past her lips, down the curve of her neck and she tilted her neck giving him more access as his hands came down to the curve of her waist finally stopping at her hips. He pulled on her hipbone, bringing her closer, their lips barely touching and he could feel her hot breath on his with the odor of tequila.

Damn.

His eyes visibly widened as she crushed her lips on his. But he couldn't stop her. Couldn't stop thinking how perfectly well her form fit against his. Couldn't help but reply to the onslaught on his lips, couldn't ignore her feather light kisses. He could barely feel her lips and he wanted more as his hands went to snake the small of her back, one hand holding the tequila bottle and the other on her hip. Every cell in his brain ordered at him to stop but like they say, alcohol brings out the true feelings within. Every fiber of his being yelled at him that this was so wrong but at the same time it felt right in every way possible. Like he was meant to be hers all along.

He tilted his head, deepening the kiss. Who cares? They won't even remember it the next day.

Her head could barely register what was happening except the warmth she was feeling all over her body and that little sensation down her belly, butterflies? She could tell that she was kissing somebody and she could make out the blue hair and the scarlet tattoo running down his face.

Everything was hazy.

The alcohol was taking control and she felt the urge to panic with her vision so blurry but she felt safe. Erza didn't know what she was doing as she pressed her body hard against the warmth she felt, hands going up to something that felt like a person's neck. She wanted this someone, her mind yelled. She needed this someone, her body told her.

And she could vaguely tell that that somebody was kissing her back, with that warmth and softness she felt on her lips.

This person…she wanted this person. Even if he didn't belong to her. Just for one night. And she won't ask for another.

She kissed him hard and passionately, feeling the fire within her burn feverishly as a clear image of Jellal came into her vision –for a moment thought until it went all hazy again.

And that was her biggest mistake in life.

* * *

 **A/N: I just love Ariana Grande. Anybody else?**

 **The songs I used are 'Thinking out loud' by Ed Sheeran and 'One Last Time' by Ariana Grande.**

 **So I got some Jerza for you :D happy?**

 **Then don't forget our deal! Give me many reviews and I'll give you another chapter.**

 **I gotta warn you though, tragedy sorta begins from the next chapter. Like at the end :D**


	6. Chapter 6 Erase

**A/N: I am so SORRY for the late update. I had some issues (being lazy one of 'em, haha). But thank you for the lovely reviews follows and favorites.**

 **Disclaimer: (I always forget this) I do NOT own Fairy Tail or the songs. This disclaimer applies to the rest of the story and the previous chapter.**

 **Warning: rating will change to M in the next chapter. Also there will be a lot of time-skipping stuff in this chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

Kill me. Heal me

Chapter –6 ~Erase ~

* * *

Everything was spinning. Everything was a blur. She knew it wasn't the alcohol. She only drank a glass of beer, a small glass. So she knew, what she was seeing was real and not some illusion her mind was playing on her. No matter how much she tried to deny, Ultear knew she wasn't imagining.

She knew she wasn't imagining Jellal kissing their scarlet haired classmate.

She should have done something sooner, when they were still secretly taking glances at each other. And now, things have slipped right through her palms. She should have stopped him, should have done things worse than what she had done to the redhead for her to know where she truly belonged. He had never kissed her first. In fact, they had only kissed her once. But why her? When he only saw, knew her for three months? What was so special about her? What did Erza have what she didn't? Beauty? Money? Fame? She had all. But her, the redhead? The woman was practically homeless and the reason she only got invited was because she sang somewhat well today during the exam.

What made her so special to him? What did she do to make Jellal go to her, instead of searching for his own girlfriend? How was she supposed to believe him when he denied going to other women? How could she rely on his statement when she was seeing him cheating on her, firsthand?

XXXX

It was an hour past twelve and the pop bands, Ryusei and Kappa were seated in the Mikazuchi backyard along with their new friend, Erza. Everybody was pretty drunk except for Ultear.

"So, Erza where did you live before?" Mira slurred, waving her bottle of whiskey in the air.

"France." The redhead answered immediately, the power of alcohol taking control of her body.

"That's so cool!" Natsu yelled and Lucy smacked him on the head.

"Shut up!" she hiccupped and Natsu fell backwards, into the large pool.

The party was still hot. Some left but the majority remained. There were some couples making out here and there while others gyrated on the dance floor and some drinking their heads off. And somehow, Gray's clothes had come off, leaving him only in his jeans while every time Juvia turned to look at the said singer, she blushed madly.

Erza wondered why.

She rocked back and forth in her seat, eyes drooping slowly.

"I gotta go." She said softly. "It's late."

"I'll take you." Jellal stood up after her.

Ultear gaped. No, he didn't do that. He didn't just insist on taking another girl home when his own girlfriend was right to him. Not while she was still there. She folded her arms across her chest and huffed. But he did. She felt like he was breaking up with her, figuratively. Wasn't that the same since he was walking away with some girl? Other than her.

The dark haired singer watched as Jellal and Erza walk out of Mikazuchi back gates.

XXXX

Her room had no window. So when she woke up, she didn't know what the time it was. Sitting up and tying her locks into a low ponytail, Erza walked into her bathroom. After brushing her teeth still half-asleep, the redhead washed her face. The cold water seemed to wash away the sleepiness but not the throbbing headache.

She wanted to go back to her room and sleep the whole day away. It was a public holiday. But she had responsibilities that need her attendance. Sighing, she dragged her feet back into her room and stood before her closet, head hanging on a side.

She straightened her body when she noticed the clothes she was wearing. Staring at her reflection for what seemed hours, she turned her face down to look at herself.

She remembered going to the party with Cana but how come she doesn't remember coming back home?

She remembered dancing with Mira, Lucy, Juvia and Levy but from then, things were hazy. Her head only throbbed even more when she tried to think about it.

Shaking her head, Erza grabbed a pair of black leggings and a black sweater dress. Quickly changing out of the dress that reeked of liquor, Erza walked out to see a huge mess made by Ryusei.

The boys had flipped the couch over again and the cushions were everywhere. The curtain on the glass next to the front door was ripped. The vase on the TV stand was shattered, bits of glass scattered all around it.

She didn't actually sleep all through this, did she?

Sighing heavily, Erza massaged her temples and got to work. It was only six in the morning and the number of works she need complete before visiting her mother only increased when she glanced at the kitchen.

How come they never run out of energy?

In record time, Erza Scarlet vacuumed the whole floor, including her room –excluding Ryusei's room cause, of course, they were still asleep. She changed the ripped curtain, cleaned the kitchen table and counters and washed the dirty dishes Ryusei had thrown all over the place. She swept the yard clean of any leaves falling from the trees and other trash and watered the plants –though it was automatic.

By the time she was finished cooking breakfast, it was thirty minutes past nine. Sighing, she flopped on the stool by the island counter and finished her share of breakfast.

Erza felt like her arms and legs might fall off. Scratch that, she felt like her whole body was gonna shut down any moment now.

And she still had the laundry untouched. Well, that could only be done when Ryusei wakes up. She wouldn't dare to go in any of the room while they were still asleep.

So, Erza decided to visit her mother.

Grabbing a grey cardigan, the young Scarlet walked out of the house, putting the house card-key and her smartphone –a Galaxy 6S edge Makarov bought her as a late birthday gift –in the pocket of her cardigan, she walked off in the direction of Magnolia General.

XXXX

Ultear parked her car on the other side of the road, a little bit away from Ryusei's residence. She grabbed a hand mirror from her clutch and inspected herself for the final time. Though it was only ten in the morning, you never know who you will meet, so a bit of black eyeliner and pink lip gloss wasn't very much. She ran a hand through her gold sequined lose tank top and adjusted the denim shorts. The dark haired singer bent down in the driver's seat to adjust her black platform heels.

With a confident smile, she shot up right, adjusting her top once again and flipping her hair over her shoulder. She stopped midway, when she noticed the doors of Jellal's house being opened. She watched with a light smile, hoping that it'd be Jellal, concealed in head to toe, heading out to the supermarket. That guy always had a habit to run to the market early in the morning to buy something unnecessary.

Her smile however, faltered when she realized who had come out of Ryusei's residence.

It wasn't a member of the most popular band in the country nor was it their manager. Ryusei as hell didn't have _female_ members or even a manger. Even if they had, it wouldn't be the redhead in her class.

Yes, you never know who you will meet.

Ultear could feel the tears threatening to fall as her grip on the steering wheel tightened, her knuckles almost turning white. She glared at the redhead who walked past her car on the other side of the road.

 _Bitch!_

She screamed over and over again in her head as she watched Erza round the corner from her side-mirror.

What had Jellal done? Why would the red freak come out of her boyfriend's house in the morning?

What happened last night?

XXXX

Slowly and albeit hesitantly, Erza opened the door to her mother's room. She looked both ways before slipping inside. It had been quite some time since she last saw her mother. She had been so busy with the semester end evaluations that she rarely got any time to think about anything else.

Erza sat on the chair beside her mother's bed. It hurt her to see her mother like that. But she'll endure it, for her sake. If not, for her own sake. She can't give up on life now when she had seen the sate her mother was in, when she had learned what happened to her family.

The redhead hesitantly raised a shaking hand. She clenched her fists before taking her mother's motionless hand in hers, careful not to disturb the IV needle.

She felt so…warm.

A feeling she never experienced before.

 _This is what a mother feels like?_

She asked herself. A gentle smile broke on her face as she watched her mother's fingers close in on hers. Her heart skipped a beat. It had been so slow but she definitely saw her long fingers move. She felt them tightening around her. It was brief but it had been there, she could swear it on music.

"…mom?" Erza whispered.

She received no response.

A pang of disappointment filled her. Erza didn't let it bother her so much. There was hope her mother might wake up now. She had heard that there had been no movement since she fell into that state. But now that she had witnessed it first hand, there was hope that she might wake up.

There was hope, right?

Erza smiled and lowered her head down until it met the soft mattress. Her lips slightly brushed against her mother's fingers in a chaste kiss before succumbing into sleep. She drowned in a sleep where she felt safe, warm and happy, lying beside her mother.

Nana's lashes fluttered for a minute before it stopped.

Outside, Igneel and Makarov watched with tearstained eyes.

XXXX

"I'm very disappointed to say that only one of you passed high enough to debut. From all you four grades, only _one_ passed." Makarov made sure he emphasized the number clearly enough.

All the students were assembled for the last assembly of the first semester and the meeting where who debuts will be announced. Some prayed –what's the point in it now though – while others cried and some like Erza remained impassive while Cana fidgeted nervously beside her.

"But I'm glad to announce that Cana Alberona is the person to debut this semester. It's still better than none right?" Makarov chuckled to himself, all the seriousness from before disappearing. "Congratulations, Cana."

Cana remained frozen in her seat, jaw slacked.

Erza gave the girl a shake and she erupted in a shriek, jumping up on her.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" she squeezed the living daylights of poor Erza.

"Congratulations." Erza managed to whisper.

She was truly happy for her friend. To debut through Fairy Entertainment is every music student's dream. And Cana had achieved it by passing in all the classes and exceeding the marks for debuting.

Erza passed in all the classes except the dance. Aries had failed her. A little devil-bulb went off in her mind.

She'd show the pink-haired instructor what she is made of.

Hmph! Wait and watch, madam Aries.

Next time, it'd be her who will debut. She'd show them the power of Erza _Scarlet_. She'd show off her last name.

She'd prove that her mother's legacy will live on.

XXXX

When the next semester began, it had left all the first year's jaws hanging. Aries's eyes looked like it'd pop out of its sockets. There were people who had failed in her class –more than one –and they had low spirits and she wanted to embarrass them in front of the whole first years. They had been so passionate about dance in the first semester and now they want to give up. Aries was more than glad to get rid of slackers and gain some people who are actually wiling to dance.

And she was going to make Erza a perfect example of 'slacking'.

So when the said redhead began to dance –for the first time in her class, or any other class for that matter –she could barely form any coherent thoughts.

The speakers in the large studio classroom –a classroom the size of an auditorium that can fill all first years – blasted the song Crazy in Love by Sophia Karlberg.

Her body moved flawlessly to the music, sexy, enticing and demanding attention. Nobody could take her eyes off of her. To every hard beat, her hips bucked down. Flexible, perfectly in sync with the music. The way she danced made them wonder if Ultear had been even dancing 'till now.

Definitely breathtaking.

And those moves as hell couldn't be mastered with just a couple of days. Either she practiced from a long time ago or she was a genius.

Truth was Erza wasn't even trying. She was just moving around on the stage, doing this and that. But the looks on her college mate's faces were hilarious –especially Aries. They looked like they were witnessing something called dance for the first time.

She can do this.

Just a little more and she can debut. Only three months. Only three months is enough for her to change Aries's mind and gain the interest of everybody who plays an important role in debuting.

She doesn't want any personal ties involved. The chairman of the college and chairman of FE (Fairy Entertainment) were like family to her mother. And she doesn't want that to be the reason she debuts. She wants to be a singer out of her own talent. By sacrificing _her_ sweat and time.

When she walked off stage, her amber eyes caught Jellal's emerald ones. They quickly averted their gaze. Erza pulled the sleeve that fell off one shoulder as she joined Cana on the floor. The brunette sent her a thumb up and a grin.

When she lifted her head up, Erza was met with Jellal's gaze again. Though this time, none of them dared to break eye contact.

It had been like this since both of them recalled what happened during the Mikazuchi's party at the end of the previous semester. They never spoke after that. Even at home, if they find themselves alone, it had always been awkward silences and one of them will eventually go back to their room.

Jellal was amazed. In his nineteen years of life, he had only kissed two girls. One was initiated by the girl while the other was by him. He knew he was pretty drunk when he kissed Erza but that doesn't mean there isn't something that draws him to her.

Erza was a dark figure, with a secret past. So far, even now, no one had ever known who her parents are or if there are any. Even teachers had no idea what her surname is. She was an enigma in itself and he so badly wanted to unravel everything there is to her by himself.

There was so much he wanted to learn about her, to know about her. Like right now, how she was able to perform that mind-blowing dance. It as hell didn't look easy and he never heard music coming from her room. And she never stepped her foot in their studio on the upper floor unless that place needed cleaning. He wanted to know this mysterious person that draws his attention in more than one way. He wanted to know how she does things that Ultear wasn't even capable of getting close to.

Speaking of Ultear, he broke eye contact with the redhead and gazed at the dark haired singer who kept on glaring at Erza. She must be pissed now that people had found someone who can move better than her. Nevertheless, it doesn't change the fact that they haven't spoken within the last month. He tried asking her what the hell was wrong but he was very blatantly and rudely ignored.

So, Jellal knew she saw him that night with Erza. And he didn't even want to ask her for forgiveness. It may be rude –no, it isn't –to say that she doesn't deserve his forgiveness. He did something she always did whenever she goes to a party, only once. And she was brash enough to do it in front of him –like she was trying to make his jealous.

Ultear had changed. She wasn't the girl he had known before. The girl he fell in love with was kind, consider other's thoughts before hers, helps people instead of bullying them, smiles kindly from the depths of her heart and the Ultear he knew doesn't go on rampages –something he loathes. Revenge fulfills nothing.

He wanted to officially end things with her. But only if she'd talk to him. If she'd give him the chance to break things up, he'd have already done it at the time he kissed Erza.

Jellal really couldn't understand why he was still trying to be the gentleman when she clearly had been the stuck up bitch all through the relationship.

If she won't hear him, then he'd have no choice but to announce it out loud, even if it meant everybody else hears it too.

He could care less about what she feels right now.

XXXX

Before she even knew it, it was the time for the end of semester evaluation. She really disliked this time's practical exam. They could have just done the same they did last semester instead of partnering everyone up. To check the teamwork, they said.

Teamwork her butt! Couldn't they at least have teamed her up with someone other than Jellal Fernandez? Girls had been on her head, trying to kill her with their glares since the instructors announced that their bias had been teamed up with the new popular kid.

Kappa –excluding Ultear –had all been teasing her about it. Even Gray and Natsu kept on smirking at her. She honestly couldn't understand what was going on through those heads of them. And she knew she didn't want to know, either.

Since Cana had been busy promoting her new album –which she purchased the moment it was released –Kappa had been always there for her. Even Ryusei. And her other classmates too. And slowly, Erza had begun to open up to them. She had actually had a proper conversation with her college-mates. But she hadn't dared to tell them her past or who her family is.

She didn't want any misunderstandings when things had been going smoothly for once in her life.

Erza had frequently visited her mother. But the movement she witnessed before never occurred after that. That didn't minimize her hope, though. She still believed that her mother will wake up, someday. And she'll be waiting for that.

Her anger didn't diminish even a bit when her partner for the practical exam once again invaded her mind. She huffed as she yanked Jellal's sheet off of the bed, imagining that it was him. She grabbed the rest of the laundry and turned around to leave the room before anyone comes home.

Her grip on the laundry almost fell when she came face to face with the very person that had been making her fume.

Jellal narrowed his eyes at her, hands shoving into the pockets of his jeans. He took a step forward and Erza took one back. They duo did the same until Erza's back was against the lavender wall. His eyes still narrowed, Jellal placed his palm on the wall, right beside her head and inched closer to her face.

Out of instinct, Erza leaned her head back, hitting the wall. When he showed no signs of stopping the redhead averted her gaze to the laundry in her hands, turning her head to a side.

 _Why is he…why is he being so bold?_

Erza thought nervously. They haven't spoken to each other since in forever, not even when the teacher announced that they will be partners for the semester end evaluation.

"Erza…." He called softly.

Oh dear.

The hair on her back bolted upright.

"Why are you ignoring me?" he asked, bending to her level.

Erza tried to hide away from his prying eyes but to no avail. Sighing, she looked straight into his emerald eyes.

"I'm not." She said with confidence.

Jellal raised a fine brow that sent her heart beating up to three digits.

Damn him.

"Then meet me in the studio within two hours. We need to practice. I don't like failing." He said. His posture and tone all professional.

Erza nodded and quickly walked away.

Jellal took a quick inhale of breath as she walked past him and exhaled slowly. Shoving his hands back into the pockets, the blue haired singer looked up at the white ceiling. Sighing through his nose, he abruptly turned around, just in time to see Erza stepping out.

Without thinking, the pop idol grabbed the redhead's upper arm, swirling her around and crashed his lips on hers, cupping her cheeks.

Erza's eyes nearly bulged. She blinked to register what was happening. Just a moment ago, she was walking out of the door and now she was in the arms of the man that turned her into a gooey mess with just one look.

And he was kissing her.

Was he drunk?

"I'm completely sober." He whispered against her lips before closing the gap in yet another kiss.

The difference this time though was that Erza returned it, throwing her arms around his neck while his' came down to her waist.

Erza stood by the automatic washing machine, very flushed. Her mind kept recalling the kiss she shared with Jellal a few moments ago. Her mind screamed that this wasn't right, it still did. He had a girlfriend. They cannot do something like this. But what can she do, this was Jellal she was dealing with. How can she deny when he was raining down a million of feather light kisses all the way from her lips down to the hollow of her throat. How can she refuse when her body fit so perfectly against his, like his definite other half?

It all ultimately felt right, though.

It would, wouldn't it? No coherent thoughts formed in her mind when he touched her like he did. She'd be damned if she were to say piss off.

She wanted him. She couldn't deny the feelings she had felt when he first talked to her. She couldn't deny the force that pulled her to him, the attention that draws her to him. There was definitely something.

Something powerful.

Erza was glad that things weren't awkward between them anymore. But that didn't stop her from thinking that she was only his lover behind closed doors. Ultear was still his girlfriend even though they haven't finished things. She wouldn't ask him to break up. She didn't want to sound desperate.

She can always wait. She always had.

XXXX

Erza waited at the backstage, staring at the full-length mirror. The mike was right in front of her, on the table. She had practiced many times and Jellal had helped her through everything until this very day. She shouldn't be nervous. Erza closed her eyes.

But this was the final exam and it played a very important role in her debut.

She can't just let all the practice go to waste. She had even practiced walking in heels just for the sake of looking good beside Jellal. What would she be if she stood on that stage looking like a fashion disaster? And she as hell doesn't want Jellal to fail because of her.

Erza exhale slowly and opened her eyes, determination burning within.

Jellal knocked on the changing room Erza had disappeared into. He slowly opened the door and his breath almost left his lungs, heart beating uncontrollably.

To say that Erza looked beautiful in a black loose top with an O neckline that fell to her mid-back from the back and a pair of black shorts, would be an understatement. The horizontal leather straps on her back minimized the amount of skin showing and he could breathe properly every time he sees her back. Her legs looked like it went on for miles in a pair of blood red stiletto-heeled platform shoes. There was minimum makeup of only a little bit of black eye shadow, mascara and shining pink lip gloss.

Oh damn, she looked hot alright.

Her shoulder-length hair had bends here and there –probably using a hair straightener –and her nails were in the same color as her shoes when she brought her slender and long fingers to brush it through her scarlet locks.

"You look beautiful." he said and smirked when she jumped up.

"Jellal." She groaned, turning around to face him, crossing her legs as she sat down on the chair.

Jellal couldn't tear his gaze away from her legs.

Her colors tinted pink when he saw the man girls swoon over. He looked more than handsome in a pair of dark blue jeans and a plain, white loose shirt –a leather jacket over it. He wore converse of black and white that seemed to match her outfit. She noticed a silver chain on his wrist when he raised his hand to rake it through his messy blue hair.

"You ready?" he asked walking over to the dresser and grabbing his mike.

Erza looked at him confused when he grabbed the wireless microphone and adjusted it around his ear, angling it towards his mouth.

"This gives freedom when you dance." He shot her a deathly handsome smile. "Come here."

She stood up and walked over to him. He grabbed another mike and adjusted it on her. Her ear tickled at first but she quickly got used to it. She felt his hands run down the length of her arm when he was finished and turned her around to face him.

"Nervous?" he asked, almost whispered and Erza shook her head, trying to fight off the butterflies in her stomach because of the close proximity.

"Good luck." He leaned down to give a peck on her lips, hands running down her head to her shoulders and squeezing it in a reassuring manner.

"As for the final participant, we have Erza and Jellal Fernandez." The host announced and the duo walked on stage, where a lone red chair was placed.

Erza walked over and gracefully sat on it, already used to wearing high heels. Jellal stood behind her, his back facing hers. When the music began, he turned the chair she was in, him walking to the other side as he did so.

Jellal sang the first verse.

 _(Hello) You changed a lot, your shorter hair_ _  
(Hello) Your thick makeup, you're like someone else  
(Hello) I know that I mean nothing to you now, I feel it_ (Erza)

Erza stood up from the chair and began the choreography she had practiced fairly well. They shared the lines together, singing in perfect synchronization.

 _You'll forget me, whatever, I'll just meet another girl_ _  
I'll just meaninglessly meet another guy, it'll be typical  
Don't look back so I can't hold onto you, no way yeah_

Jellal occupied the chair Erza was in as the redhead danced.

 __ _I'm not that great of a person_ _  
Don't think too hard, no  
Don't pretend to be nice  
We always had that kind of love, don't say yeah_

When the chorus began, Jellal stood up and joined his partner in dancing. Their moves were collected, sexy and matching perfectly. They duo had everyone's eyes glued on them with the meaningful R&B that relayed a typical sad love story between two people. The tone of their voice added more to the effects it had on the audience.

 _I'll erase my love for you (erase) you_ _  
I'll erase your number (erase) secretly  
We can't ever be, no no  
That's how we always were, yeah_

 _(Good bye) I'm sick of the same words every time, babe  
(Good bye) We got more and more careless  
(Good bye) I know that I mean nothing to you now, I feel it_

 _You know that I've always been this kind of guy  
I pretended to be innocent but I was always dirty behind your back  
We're not even gonna get married, what love?  
You're just a toy that was in last season  
I drink all night and party with another girl  
Then in the morning, I throw it all up, your photos, your memories  
I'll be wasted away like this  
You will fall in love with another guy_

They let the emotions flow out freely, enchanting whoever turned to look at them.

 _I'm not that great of a person  
Don't think too hard, no  
Don't pretend to be nice  
We always had that kind of love, don't say yeah_

It was the most epic, sexy and breathtaking collaboration Fairy college of Music and Arts had ever seen.

 _I'll erase my love for you (erase) you  
I'll erase your number (erase) secretly  
We can't ever be, no no  
That's how we always were, yeah_

 _(Bye bye) I secretly walked behind you  
As your turned back grew darker  
The farther you got, I thought of you more  
Without even knowing, why, I keep missing you, bye_

 _I'll erase my love for you (erase) you  
I'll erase your number (erase) secretly  
We can't ever be, no no  
That's how we always were, yeah_

The crowd erupted in applause and whistles as the song came to a stop, with Erza's alluring voice coming last.

Ultear gripped her skirt tighter within her clenched fists. She knew that Jellal had written this song for her to hear. He didn't have to make it so obvious. She knew he liked the redhead alright. They didn't have to go as far as dancing so close together, him wrapping his arm around her just to show that they were done. She got the message when he stopped talking to her. He didn't have to break her heart like this.

She could feel the tears threatening to fall. But Ultear wasn't going to cry. There were still many more things she needed to accomplish before she will let herself cry.

And so, while everyone else stood up applauding the duo, Ultear remained in her seat, glaring daggers, her eyes red, trying to keep the damn tears at bay.

XXXX

It seemed that it was a tradition within the students to have a party at the end of each semester. But this time though, there were no public holidays in between the last day of the semester and the last day of the exam. So, the person who gets to debut had been announced before the party began.

"Hey Erza, congrats, girl!" a random girl from her college came and patted her on the back.

Erza sent the girl a small smile, twirling the contents in the glass she was holding. The redhead already lost count of how many half-hearted comments she got. They were never genuine and she was more than sure that they don't mean any of it. She could practically feel the jealousy radiating off of them. Was it so hard to accept that she was only one this semester to debut? A one and only again. They could have tried harder if they really wanted to become a renowned singer.

They can show their true selves, she can take it.

Erza sipped on her tequila slowly, trying not to get too drunk like she did in the last party she attended. This time though, they weren't in the Mikazuchi mansion. It was Lucy's apartment, also where Kappa resides. She had come with Cana, like last time and just like last time; the new celebrity had disappeared, leaving her to fend for herself. But this time, she knew how parties worked and she had learned a lot from the last one.

Mira had insisted that she dance but the redhead very generously refused for which the ivory-haired singer pouted and swayed away to the living room.

Erza sighed. Things were rather boring. She turned the stool beside the island counter around, facing the balcony in the kitchen. The sky was dark with clouds looming over like the downpour may occur any moment now. Just when the thought crossed her mind, little drops of rain began to fall. The sound of drops pattering against the glass door of the balcony increasing as the rain grew more intense.

Erza shivered. The sky looked ominous. Dread pooled within her as she watched the rain fall.

Rain.

It had never been a pleasant thing for her. When it rained, she always ran for her life. Downing the rest of the contents, Erza stood up, leaving the stool. No matter how much she tried to look away, she couldn't tear her gaze away from the onslaught of the heavens.

Thunder cracked, her hold on her bag tightened. She turned around, walking away from the door. Lightning struck, illuminating the place and her eyes landed on the grim smile on Ultear's face before everything turned black when the lightning died away.

She knew something was wrong. Her whole body screamed at her to run. And Erza had lived her whole life on her gut instincts –for it had always saved her life. And right now, her body almost trembled, mind urging her, forcing her to walk out of the foreboding place. To get rid of the dreadful feeling.

But the commands barely registered in her mind as her hazel eyes searched for Jellal. He was there with her before, he had told her that he'd be back shortly and she can't just waltz out when he promised to come back to her.

She'd feel safe when he's with her. He'd protect her. He'd fight off anyone who tries to hurt her.

Wouldn't he?

Erza walked out into the dark hallway, finding no sign of Jellal inside. She walked towards the staircase to find the place completely deserted.

Sighing Erza turned around to go inside.

The moment she turned around, she felt something cold against her neck.

Erza watched as someone pressed the tip of a knife against her jugular.

* * *

 **A/N: So? I hope this chap wasn't very crappy. It tried to emphasize more on the feels but I couldn't just couldn't express it properly. Hence the delay. But I hope this was okay.**

 **The song I used for this chapter is 'Erase' by Hyolin ft JooYoung. Here is the link if you'd like.**

 **watch?v=99eyHVG5Du0**

 **please read and review. Your thoughts help me a lot.**

 **Ja! ^^**


	7. Chapter 7 Mother

**A/N: I'm back already? Well, I just couldn't let you guys be after leaving such darlings on a cliff hanger. I felt bad. Also, I promised my oneechan that if I exceed 51 reviews, I'll update the next day –so here I am :D**

 **I loved all your long reviews! ^^**

 **Warning: Rating changes in this chapter. Read and you'll know why. Gihi!**

 **Enjoy!**

Kill me. Heal me

Chapter –7 ~Mother~

* * *

Erza watched as the tip of a knife was pressed against her jugular.

A gun to the head or a knife to the neck, which one was more nerve wrecking? Erza didn't know. She just stared blankly at the two people who were grinning like fools, wobbling on their feet –clearly drunk. She could easily get past these two idiots who had come out of nowhere, easily.

Just a piece of cake.

Erza twisted the blonde's arm –the one who had a knife to her throat –and he let out a yelp, dropping the weapon to the ground. She had escaped much more life threatening events than this and she as hell could take care of these men if they were such idiots.

"Quite feisty eh, dear?" the blonde sneered, the previous wobbliness completely gone but he was still pretty much drunk –just able to hold himself up pretty good.

Erza stared at him.

"I like that." He kicked the knife away, and walked forward –towards her.

Instincts kicking in, the redhead took a quick step back.

"Zancrow." The blonde's companion called, slurring. That lavender haired guy was very drunk –that much she was sure.

"What?" the man, Zancrow snapped.

"She's mine."

Zancrow's eyebrow twitched.

"The hell she is." The blonde grabbed Erza's arm. The force of the pull jerked her towards him.

A soundless gasp escaped her mouth at the action and she tried to yank her arm free, but his hold on her was much stronger.

"Go fuck yourself, Rustyrose."

And the next moment, the blonde man had her pinned to the wall, her head hitting against the brick so hard she saw stars. Before she could recover from it, Zancrow's mouth was flushed against hers. When she regained her wits, Erza shoved him away by the shoulder. The blonde stumbled back and a sharp sting flashed across his cheek, the force of it yanking his head to a side.

"You bitch!" he growled.

Erza ignored him and tried to walk away, only to be pushed up against the wall, the same spot hitting just as hard, again.

"Don't think I will just let you walk away that easily."

He grabbed her rear in a painful grasp that made her wince. She tried punching him, but her arms were pinned by his stronger ones, a satisfied smirk on his face. She tried kicking him in the shin but her legs were locked at shoulder's width by his very own. Her whole body was practically immobile under his larger, stronger and sturdier one. Erza gritted her teeth. Her heart was beating uncontrollably within her chest. She could feel the light tremble in her limbs.

She was….scared.

Her lips trembled ever so lightly and she could feel her eyes tearing up. She didn't want to cry. No, she _won't_ cry. She had been in much frightening states than this. This was nothing. This was absolutely nothing.

 _Keep telling yourself that!_ Her mind screamed at her.

She jolted under his pressure, but his hold on her was much stronger. She tried in vain to get free. The music from inside made it impossible for anyone to hear her screams. The walls were perfectly soundproof.

But did she have a choice?

Erza opened her mouth to let out a bloodcurdling scream. Nothing came out; instead she wanted to gag until her insides came out of her mouth. The blonde had her lips captured. She closed her eyes and mouth, hoping he would get the hell away. But Zancrow only slanted his lips over hers, making her scrunch her eyes, shaking her head to get the feel of him away. He only deepened the kiss, hitting her head on the wall again and she saw black for a moment. His hand went under the dress she was wearing, stroking the skin of her belly. She felt disgusted as she thrashed against him, making futile attempts in shoving him off of her.

She shut her lips close again but that didn't stop him from kissing her even more deeply, his hand under the dress coming up to grope her breast under her bra.

Hot tears spilled down her cheeks as her energy began to subside.

 _Jellal!_ She tried calling, only to find that her lips were sealed. _Please…._ Her whole body trembled. Her head throbbed, spun around like she was on a spinning wheel. Slowly, she felt all her fight give away as his hands went to the prohibited places. His mouth and saliva were all over her lips, neck and chest.

Erza was terrified.

That in itself was an understatement. She had never quite felt this way before. Not even when she had a gun pointed to her head. Not when the said gunner almost pulled the trigger. If it wasn't for the wailing police sirens, she'd be a decaying body by now.

But this time, where would the police come from? What was she going to do to save herself? There were no options anymore. It'd be best to surrender.

Her arms felt limp by her side as the man ravaged her body. There wasn't a single place where his hands didn't touch.

What did she do to deserve this?

Erza bit her lower lip, drawing out blood as the blonde bit on the valley of her breasts, clearly leaving a mark there. Erza didn't know what to do. If she died, will anyone miss her? Would anyone care to lay flowers by her gravestone? Would…anyone remember her?

Will she disappear from their memories like a gush of wind? Like footprints on the sand, like cherry blossoms after spring?

She doesn't have anyone here.

 _Mother!_

A sudden flash of her mother's fingers closing in on hers replayed in her mind. She has her mother. What else does she need? She needed to live for her mother's sake. Who else would take care of her, if not for her?

She must be disappointed because she gave up, right?

Opening her eyes, she noticed the blonde was out of breath and unguarded. Using that to her advantage, she kicked him in the groin, hard enough for him to become immobile for a good second before falling down the stairs.

Why didn't she think of that before?

Erza took a step forward and stumbled to the ground. Her legs were trembling visibly. She pulled of her heels and grabbed them before walking to the elevator, barefooted, every inch of her body shaking like she had just stepped out of cold ice. Erza looked at herself in the mirror as the elevator took her down.

She looked like she had come out of a catfight. Her hair was a mess and her head throbbed with just glancing to a side. Her eyes felt droopy. A part of her dress was ripped. There were bite marks all over her neck –anywhere visible. There was a small rip on her neckline that was barely visible.

Sighing, Erza leaned against the mirror wall, her legs almost giving out.

Her mother…saved her.

Even in a state like that, she was still able to save her daughter. She could feel her love, her care.

 _Mother…_

XXXX

It took her an hour and a half to cross the distance that could be covered with only thirty minutes of walk –at a relaxing pace. She was out of breath by the time she reached home. With hands that trembled like an old woman's she pressed the card on the lock. Sighing tiredly, she was barely able to drag her feet up the stairs to the porch. She stumbled every now and then, her mind blank and blacking out sometimes. Drenched completely under the heavy rain helped very little.

Still, she tried to make it home. Her head became fuzzy but she still managed to angle the card-key on the lock. The sound of the door opening had never been as soothing as it did then.

There was only one light lit up in the entire living room but she was still able to make out the blue hair of the person she had acknowledged that she loved.

"Jellal…." She whispered in the dead silent room.

The said man bolted upright, almost startling her.

"It's really you…" she mumbled, unable to increase her voice any more than a whisper.

He never told her that he was coming home. He only said to wait for him.

When he turned though, all her questions were answered in one single gaze. That gaze she had received on so many occasions. What made her think that he was any different? Because she fell in love with him? Because she fell in love with him, she thought that he'd be different? She thought that he'd actually love her back? Sure, they have kissed on several occasions and an emotion had burned within his emerald orbs. But does that mean he actually _loved_ her? She could have been a decoy, a distraction form Ultear, for all she knew. He might have used her to break up with Ultear.

If he did, if he actually truly loved her…

…would he look at her like that?

Disgusted.

Would he be disgusted with her, if he truly loved her? Wouldn't he have asked her to know what _actually_ happened when he saw her with some guy before jumping onto conclusions that weren't even close to the truth?

Nevertheless, she felt the need to explain herself to him.

"Jellal…"

"Don't." he cut her off coldly.

It stung. But somehow, in a way, his voice soothed her. When in his presence, she felt protected, loved and she herself had no idea how and why. With only his presence, no matter which mood he was in, he was able to calm her nerves, ease her throbbing head.

His warmth washed over her, healing her wounds.

"I love you." She said, pouring all her emotions into those three words.

Erza closed her eyes, waiting for his answer.

"Love?" he laughed humorlessly. The blue haired singer turned around, facing her. But Erza didn't dare to open her eyes, for the fear of seeing hatred.

Hatred for her.

She could bear only how much when it came to him.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Jellal screamed, compelling Erza to open her eyes.

He looked rabid. He looked like he wanted to…to…do things she couldn't even dare think of right then and there but restrained himself from doing so. She wouldn't allow him to do something that'd hurt him and that was exactly what he was thinking of doing.

He looked so angry. He looked so full of hate.

It was killing her and yet he seemed to be the best healer. He was the only remedy for her bleeding heart.

"I trusted you!" he half screamed, half whispered.

"I know." Erza mumbled, lowering her gaze when she felt the tears brimming at the corners.

"How many?" he clenched his fists. "How fucking many have you said this to? Do you go around expressing your pathetic love for everyone who crosses your path?" he shouted.

Erza shook her head.

The next moment, she heard something crash and she shut her eyes close as she watched the blood seeping from his wound when he crashed the glass vase to the ground.

"You're my first." She whispered into thin air as she listened him storm upstairs, desperately trying to stop the tears from falling.

XXXX

Jellal tossed and turned. It was already a few hours past midnight. He had been trying but sleep seemed to be the last thing on his mind as it replayed the scene that broke his already shattered heart into oblivion. He had told her to wait for him where she had been sitting by the island counter in Lucy's apartment. But when he came back, there was no trace of Erza being there. He had wanted to surprise her for debuting so soon and so when he couldn't find her anywhere within the apartment, he decided to check outside.

And what greeted him choked the life out of him. He thought she had been different. He had fallen for her so hard and the feelings had been so strong, unlike anything he felt before.

He had actually…loved her.

Jellal stared up at the white ceiling above, one hand over his head, the other spread out on the soft bed. He had thought that she had been so beautiful…so…so…pure.

The blue haired singer shut his eyes close as the scene where Erza was in someone else's arm replayed over and over again. Why do all the women he meets always turn out to be the same?

Was there something wrong with him?

Jellal raised his palms in front of his face as if it'd give him the answers –at least one. After a moment of staring at it, he smacked on both side of his bed. Jellal kept on hitting on the bed, like he was taking out his frustrations on the mattress.

After a moment of thrashing on the bed, Jellal laid belly-down on the bed, eyes drooping close with exhaustion.

Even though, still, after witnessing Erza with another person, he still couldn't stop himself.

Jellal couldn't stop himself from falling deeper in love with her.

XXXX

Erza stepped out to the nearby park when Cana called her. She had sounded so sad and not like the bubbly Cana she was so used to. And hence even without a wink of sleep the previous night, she came out to the park first thing in the morning after finishing her chores.

She at least wanted to be there for her friend when she felt sad.

A sudden hug from behind caught her off guard and she instantly tried to pry off the arms around her that seemed to only tighten when her fingers touched the skin.

"I'm…sorry." Cana's sob reached her ears and she relaxed, letting Cana hug her.

It was only seven in the morning and there were less –almost no –people in the area. She didn't have to worry about being seeing out with a now very famous celebrity.

It was weird though. Shouldn't Cana be in her room, dying from a severe hangover? With her drinking habits, she shouldn't be able to walk so early in the morning. But then again, Cana was a monster when it came to drinking.

She tried to humor her friend though.

"Who are you and what have you done with Cana?" she punched her arm playfully but her sobs only increased and her hold on her tightened.

"I know…" she whispered, laying her head on Erza's shoulder, arms still around her. "I know what happened. I heard that weird haired guy saying that his friend…his friend….was…with you…." She sobbed once more but her tears had stopped.

Erza's eyes softened as she stared off into the distance. She wasn't alone. Cana was more than enough. Even one is enough. Erza was glad she didn't scratch her skin off while showering. Though the memories hurt, stung and broke her heart all over again…

What good would come from harming herself?

"Sometimes…" Erza patted on Cana's arm, the wind ruffling their hair. "There will be hard times. Sad times." She paused but continued to pat on her friend's arm comfortingly. "You just have to make it through. No matter how hard, how difficult and agonizing it is, you have to push yourself through. Life will never be life if you don't have problems. If you don't break."

The redhead looked up at the sky.

"You just have to pick the pieces up and put them back again. Over and over again. You never know what will happen next. But you should be ready and brace yourself for whatever that comes your way, right?"

She felt Cana nod against her shoulder.

"The world is a cruel place, Cana. We have seen only an ounce of it. There's much more than this. There are people who are worse than us but still managing through life. If they can, then…why can't we?"

Ironic, isn't it?

Shouldn't it be the opposite?

But she didn't mind though. Even if the tears didn't fall, she didn't mind consoling her friend in her stead. It was if consoling her very self.

Cana began to cry once more.

Erza frowned.

"If you keep that up, I might spread some nasty rumors about you." She said with a blank face.

A small –barely there –smile broke on her face when her brown haired friend laughed through her tears.

"Let's go eat. I'm hungry." The rapper stood up, stretching and wiped all her tears.

Cana grinned at her.

When Erza just stared, the brunette grabbed her hand and began to run.

Erza didn't mind though. She could use some company.

So, she let herself run.

Kami-sama knows what's next.

XXXX

Erza sat in her room, Cana beside her. The brunette had insisted that she come to her home after their girls' day out –how she put it.

She was glad for her company though. It helped more than she thought it did.

It seems that Gildarts had told her that she was the in-house maid for Ryusei.

The two were playing a sort of traditional board game and it helped her to keep things she didn't want to remember at bay.

But that didn't stop her from thinking about one specific person though.

She hadn't seen Jellal since the previous night. She hadn't met any member of Ryusei either. None from kappa called either. Cana had said she saw them at their studio in FE.

She wondered if Jellal was ok.

She wondered if he'd speak with her, if he'd look at her like he used to. She wanted to explain what happened but it only hurt her by thinking about that near-rape incident.

If her mother hadn't crossed her mind, god knows what would have happened. In the past, she'd have ignored if anybody doesn't want to listen to her when she keeps telling the truth. But now, her actual hometown had changed her.

She didn't know if it was a good thing or not.

Back then, she never opened her mouth unless it was to sing. She never had any friends. People never bothered to talk to a street rat like her who had no background, no family. They never glanced her twice –or even once for that matter.

But now, within the six months she had been in Japan, things have changed so drastically the life she lived before seemed like a distant memory. It felt like that was her in a previous lifetime. Thing had been so happy after she met Jellal. The attitude and behaviors of others mattered little to her –when she was with him. Though the consideration she felt for them was still there. She wasn't a heartless bitch.

But that doesn't mean she couldn't enjoy a little bit of happiness right?

No matter how hell bent Jellal was on ignoring her, she'd still wait until he was ready to hear her out. She'd remain right where he had left her, so that he could come back and find her. She'd stay there, waiting for him to return, and forgive him for running away from her like that.

"He doesn't deserve any of your forgiveness, Erza." Cana said. Her voice was firm and eyes were locked on the board in between them –it was like she knew what she was thinking.

"Love isn't an excuse."

Erza slowly looked up at her friend. She was biting down on her lower lip –probably restraining herself from bursting into tears again.

Cana was right though.

Depending on others only hurt her more. All this time, all her life, she depended on her, trusted herself with her life. And she had survived. Survived guns to the head, kicks to her whole body. So why the hell couldn't she survive a near rape attack. It wasn't even that bad compared to what she had gone through.

But still, the feel of a stranger all over her body wasn't something she could get over so easily. It was so easy to decide, to think but it was fucking difficult to follow it through, to actually do it.

Erza wondered if she'll ever get over what happened the previous night.

She had a lot on her right now. In two days' time, she was needed at FE to practice for her debut. It'd be so damn hard. But Erza wasn't going to give up.

She wasn't going to give up when her dream to be an international star was right in front of her. She wasn't going to let her mother down. She wasn't going to let her mother's legacy end here. There's so much she needed to accomplish. There's so much she needed to fulfill in this life.

And she can't just give up just because some guy decided to have his way with her –which he was not successful at.

Erza will not stay still. She'd show the world that she couldn't be messed with so easily. She'd show that she wasn't something, someone they can just play with just because they felt like doing so.

She had been alone for the past nineteen years, why can't she do it now?

She could rely on herself to keep going forward.

"Would you…" She stopped the game and looked up at her brown haired friend. "…like to see my mother?"

"Huh?" Cana looked up, confused at first but nodded.

XXXX

To say that Cana was surprised when she entered Nana Scarlet's room would be a total understatement. Every time she tried closing her mouth, it ended hanging even lower. She looked at the redhead then back at the superstar on the bed.

"How…how…Nana…Erza?" she could barely form a coherent sentence.

"She's my mother, Cana." Erza walked over to the bed her mother lay on.

"Erza…." The brunette whispered, taking slow steps towards the blonde. "…Scarlet?" she asked, turning to look at her friend.

Erza nodded and Cana gasped.

A simple visit turned to a night over at the hospital. Erza didn't mind Cana staying with her. The woman was too stubborn to go home and stay there.

They spent the night talking about random things, sometimes chuckling while other times Cana laughing her head off, slapping her on the back as she did so. And before both of them knew it, they were both asleep. The nurses didn't wake them up either.

Erza stirred before sitting up, awake. The first rays of the sun seeped through the binds of the large windows. She looked at Cana who was sprawled on the couch and smiled. The woman actually stayed all through the night. Erza looked back at her hands, holding her mother's. She rubbed her thumb over her smooth skin, feeling the warmth of the woman who gave birth to her. She let her eyes trail from her arm to her face.

And she stumbled back to see her mother's eyes albeit open and looking at her.

Her mother was looking at her, her breathing echoing in the room. Erza looked down to her hand when her fingers closed in on her, rubbing it soothingly.

Her mother was back!

She was awake from the hopeless coma doctors have claimed so. They were such fools.

"Mom…" she couldn't hide the happiness she felt.

She couldn't help the large, genuine smile that broke on her face.

Was there anything happier than this?

Was there anything more she could ask for other than for her mother to wake up and hug her?

"Nana-san…." She looked at Cana, who had no trace of sleepiness on her face. Instead, her eyes were filled with surprise.

She quickly grabbed the emergency telephone by Nana's bed and dialed the front desk.

Erza bent down when her mother's free hand came up to her oxygen mask, pulling it off.

"The doctors will be here to check if her condition is alright." Cana informed as she walked closer to the bed, smiling.

"Thank you, Can." Erza whispered.

Nana turned to face Cana and then Erza. Pulling the oxygen mask completely off of her face, the blonde superstar smiled at Erza.

"Erza…" her voice was raspy, croaked but it was the most beautiful voice she'd ever heard.

"Hello mother."

Nana tried to sit up but the lack of energy restrained her back to the bed. Erza's hands immediately flew to her shoulders, holding her gently.

The door to the room flew open, a couple of doctors rushed in followed by nurses.

"Nana!" a familiar voice called from the doorway and Erza turned to see a tearstained Makarov and Igneel right beside him.

They almost ran towards her.

"H…hello brothers…" the barely there smile wasn't lost on any of them.

"Nana!" both Igneel and Makarov cried at the same time, almost jumping on their sister-like figure.

Nana only chuckled.

"This is…" Igneel began, extending his hands towards Erza who stood a bit behind while the doctors checked up on her.

"Erza. I know." There were surprised looks on their faces –except Erza and Cana who already knew. "Anyone can tell that she…is my daughter."

The sharp inhale of breath had everyone worried.

"I don't see any problems with her. She is…" The doctor in-charge spoke, turning to look at them. "She is perfectly fine."

"Then why do you look so worried?" Igneel demanded.

Uneasiness filled all of them with the look given by the doctor.

"She has no problem." He repeated again. "And that is the problem." The doctor dampened his dry lips.

Before anyone else could pry, Nana's voice broke through the silence.

"Erza."

Erza slowly grabbed her extended arm. Nana smiled at her daughter as she sat beside her. She raised a shaky hand, cupping her daughter's cheek. Erza leaned into her warmth, closing her eyes.

She felt surprised at first when her mother brought her head down to her level, kissing the crown of her head. But the surprise disappeared the next moment, replaced by a smile.

She felt so happy, so happy.

For the first time in nineteen years, Erza Scarlet felt truly, genuinely, utterly, wholly, completely, absolutely happy.

When she pulled back, Erza gazed into the eyes that looked like an exact copy of hers. Now that she looked up close, her mother was the _spitting image_ of her except for the hair.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, stroking her cheek gently. "I love you, my beautiful daughter."

"Me too, mother. Me too."

"I…" she lowered her hand to grab hers, intertwining their fingers. "…am so proud of you…Erza."

Erza nodded but stopped abruptly, her smile fading.

It felt like her mother was saying…goodbye. It was as if she'll never see her again. No, she can't just leave when she just woke up after thirteen freaking years. She can't just leave when she needed her so much. When she was going to miss her so much, she can't leave. Erza won't allow anybody to take her mother away from her. Nobody will take her mother away from her. Nobody _can_. No one had the right to.

"I love you…." Nana whispered once more.

The heart monitor beside her began to beep and then, the lines turned flat.

The hand within her grasp, the hand she was holding onto so tightly fell motionless. Her eyes grew wide as she watched her mother close her eyes, a beautiful smile marring her pretty features.

Just like that, Nana Scarlet succumbed into the deep slumber of eternal rest.

In that moment, nineteen years of pain and suffering fell hard on her.

* * *

 **A/N: In case you lovelies might have forgotten, the genre for this story is tragedy** ** _and_** **romance. :D**

 **As for the near-rape case, that was a real life occurrence to someone whom I know like the back of my hand, so please be respectful when you review. ^^ ok?**

 **Please let me know your thoughts.**

 **I'll update in the next week, hopefully. Maybe even sooner.**

 **As for the people who have been asking if Erza's hair is long or short, for the time being it is short but she will grow it back, I promise just this time it'll become even shorter *evil laugh***

 **Mwahahaha!**


	8. Chapter 8 Mind Your Own Business

**A/N: Ohayou minna-san! (It's morning here, so) I got another update for you.**

 **You know, originally, Erza's hair was supposed to be a bob but then I've been getting some messages saying that she'd look best with longer hair. So, I changed :D you'll know when you read.**

 **Enjoy!**

Kill me. Heal me

Chapter –8 ~Mind Your Own Business~

* * *

One and half month later

Shouts, screams, whistles and whatnot could be heard even within the brick walls of the waiting room she sat in, staring blankly at her reflection in the mirror. The fact that more than a million people were shouting at her, demanding her presence didn't deter her one bit, didn't affect her at all. Instead, she grabbed the nearest brush in her large vanity and swept it across her cheeks, knowing perfectly that it'd have no effect whatsoever since there was nothing on it.

But still, it kept her busy.

The beauty she saw in the mirror was perfection –according to others. But to her, the reflection showed the shell of a broken woman. Cruelty and brutality at its highest as her breaking point. Frozen, lifeless auburn eyes stared back at her, framed by thick lashes, covered in dark, smoky and sexy makeup. Streaks of bright and light red and black with a little bit of grey decorated her scarlet hair that fell to her mid-back in elegant waves. The bangs that were equally cut just above her eyebrows were pulled back by a gold headband.

Lowering her gaze back to the counter where any and all sorts of makeups were scattered, the young woman grabbed one lipstick. Taking the lid off, she reapplied the crimson red on her plump and coral-shaped lips.

"You're on in five minutes."

A voice spoke, followed by a knock from behind the closed door.

She turned her head briefly to where the said door was before turning back to the mirror and pulling off her robe, revealing a black halter crop top with an unzipped golden patterned reversible jacket over it and a pair of black peplum shorts that had gold lines around the hem.

Her hand reached for the black, knee-high stiletto-heeled boots by the counter and pulled them over the fishnet stockings she wore.

Putting the wireless microphone on, she adjusted the mike towards her mouth. The tingling she felt the first time wasn't there. And she effectively shut the memories that tried to break free from where it was locked.

She adjusted the beaded black choker necklace and the gold, layered chain one around her neck.

Satisfied with how she looked, she turned the door knob, coming face to face with the backup dancers who wore clothes that matched hers. They smiled nervously at her but she didn't bother to return it. The girls followed her down the hallway and with each step, the screams grew louder and clearer.

"Now ladies and gentlemen!" she heard the host shouting into the microphone when she reached backstage –she tried to tune him out though. "I give you…" he paused for dramatic effects. "…the only living descendant of Nana Scarlet. Everyone, I present you!" he dragged the last part, raising a hand to one of the large screens around the stage.

"Erza Scarlet!"

The billboards all over the large stadium displayed;

 _eRZa_

In bold, dark red.

The lights turned off and Erza walked on stage, her backup dancers following close by and stopped on their posts, like how they have practiced.

The redhead turned her back towards the audience. The music began along with the choreography she created, the spotlight on her.

 _Don't make me fight_

 _Don't make me upset anymore_

 _When will this fight end?_

 _Oh oh oh oh oh oh_

 _Don't make me cry_

 _I won't stand my tears anymore_

 _Your handsome face and bad attitude_

 _Oh oh oh oh oh oh_

Even though her first audience was more than a million, Erza felt no nervousness. She didn't feel uneasy wearing an outfit that showed so much skin. She wasn't scared to dance on such a large stage wearing such high heels, she wasn't worried about slipping. She didn't feel a thing except for the need to express the feelings that were relayed by her music.

Half of it was the truth anyway.

 _Nothing like the beginning_

 _Our words are getting rough_

 _You and I keep pushing each other away, oh_

 _It ok, I'll be fine without you_

 _I'm sorry but_

 _Mind your own business before it's too late_

The sexy dance she showed had everyone swooning, their eyes never leaving her even for a second. Those who weren't able to look directly at her watched her from the screens around them. Anything that had a camera on it was pointed at her. It was her theme after all, sexy, mysterious and more dark. According to them, she slayed that theme and nobody can do it like her.

The strong dance pop song made everyone rave on the spot, jumping and doing what else they can within the limited space they were in.

When the chorus came, every single person erupted like a dangerously explosive bomb, almost shutting out her voice –almost, mind you.

 _I'll leave you, turn around and walk away_

 _I won't regret it, bye bye bye bye bye bye_

 _Even if you beg me to come back_

 _I won't buy your lie lie lie, bye bye bye_

Her backup dancers moved in sync with her despite the tricky and hard choreography. Yes, she was a monster when it came to dancing and vocals. And nobody can beat her. She was after all, the daughter of the late Nana Scarlet, the legendary singer.

 _Sucks for ya, mind your own business_

 _Don't worry about me, mind your own business_

 _Sucks for ya, mind your own business_

 _Before I leave you, mind your own business please_

She wasn't going to stop with just the title song. There was more. And she wasn't going to stop when she finally caught her long awaited dream within her grasp. She was going to go all out on the stage. This was only the beginning.

 _Don't tell me why_

 _My heart's being stepped on_

 _Look how shattered we've become_

 _Oh oh oh oh oh oh_

 _The same excuses_

 _Too proud to give in_

 _You got nothing on me, learn some manners_

 _Oh oh oh oh oh oh_

 _No winner here, only wounds left_

 _Us on repeat, until we got sick of it_

 _I want it to stop, I want it to end_

 _But we've gone too far_

 _I'll leave you, turn around and walk away_

 _I won't regret it, bye bye bye bye bye bye_

 _Even if you beg me to come back_

 _I won't buy your lie lie lie, bye bye bye_

 _Sucks for ya, mind your own business_

 _Don't worry about me, mind your own business_

 _Sucks for ya, mind your own business_

 _Before I leave you, mind your own business please_

She sent a sexy look at the audience when her song came to an end, strands of hair falling over her face that sent her fans into a spiral of ecstasy. They were in a trance, in a dream they never want to wake up from.

Erza Scarlet had the power to manipulate her fans however she wanted to.

XXXX

Somewhere far from the stadium where Erza performed, a group of ten people sat –sprawled in some cases –watching the live show.

Watching Erza.

"How does she make singing live and dancing at the same time look so easy?" Natsu asked, shoving popcorns into his mouth.

"I have no idea." Gray replied, taking a handful from the roseate. "That woman is a living powerhouse."

"She's just amazing." Lucy sighed dreamily from where she sat cross-legged on one of the couches.

"And so sexy." Mira added.

"And so beautiful." Levy nodded, never taking her eyes off of the screen that showed their classmate dominating the entire arena.

"And so talented." Juvia felt like she should voice out her thoughts too.

Jellal and Ultear remained silent while the rest agreed. They sat on opposite sides of the room, never once glancing at each other.

Jellal never let his eyes wander off of the large TV they stared at. No matter how much it hurt to watch her, he still couldn't tear his eyes away. There was something different about her. Jellal knew, when they sang a duet about a month and half ago, there was something like passion within her. He felt it. He felt how much she wanted to show people –or rather someone –how much she wanted to sing and dance.

But now, there was nothing like that. Though she was capable of making everyone swoon without even trying, the passion she had before wasn't there. To him, it felt like she was singing just for the sake of it. The feelings were delivered perfectly but Jellal couldn't help but feel like this wasn't the Erza he had practiced with. He felt like the person he was watching was someone entirely different –like he doesn't know who she is. He felt like he was watching a stranger whom he hadn't even spoken a word to.

The fact that she was Nana Scarlet's daughter came as a shock to everyone –he included. Sure, she looked like the late superstar but no one had ever though that _she_ 'd be Nana's daughter. And now, when she was on stage, no one can deny that she isn't. Anyone can tell just by single glance that she is indeed Nana's daughter.

It's already been two weeks since the third semester of their first year at college started and Erza has yet to come to classes. But with the announcement that she was Nana's daughter, fans from all over the world had come to see the legendary singer's daughter –exceeding a million of fans only within the country.

Erza was after all, a prodigy, a living legacy.

Within a week of debuting, she had topped the charts, extending all the way to international charts. Ryusei and Kappa had been the lesser bands on people's minds ever since her debut.

Jellal couldn't deny that was indeed beautiful and sexy –like her debut theme.

And he couldn't deny how hurt he felt every time he saw her either, how hurt he felt by her song.

The words pierced right through his heart.

It was hard to look at her without remembering the reason they stopped talking.

Somewhere deep within his heart, Jellal couldn't help but think that all of this –him not talking to her –felt very wrong.

His subconscious kept telling him that there was more than meets the eye. Like there was something beneath.

XXXX

Erza sat on the beige couch, a glass of red wine in her hands as she watched the rain pitter against her penthouse apartment –one of the many inheritances from her mother. She twirled the red liquid before taking a long sip.

Rain.

Whenever it rained, something dark always befell upon her, taking something away. It always scared her. But now, she had nothing. So what could the rain possibly take away from her?

Once, long ago, Erza had everything life has to offer.

And then, life decided to shove its middle finger at her face and took everything away, as slowly and painfully as possible, ripping her apart in the process.

When her mother died, holding her hand, she cried. Erza never remembered crying in her life. Except for two occasions. The near-rape and her mother's death.

It was so painful she wailed as loudly as she could –baring the pain she bottled up for nineteen years. She cried, not caring whether anyone around her heard, not caring if Cana was clinging onto her, crying with her. At that time, all she wanted to do was cry, cry and cry a little more. She wanted to let out all her emotions she had kept hidden within.

She cried until her tears dried up.

After the funeral –where a number of people attended –she was officially announced as the daughter of Nana Scarlet and she couldn't be any happier but the smile never came. The lawyers came and transferred her parent's inheritance and signed everything, legally sealing.

And then, she debuted. She moved out of the Ryusei residence and into her mother's very own house. Everything began to get busy from then. Most of her time was dedicated to preparing for her debut. She grew her hair –she felt like she looked more mature and sturdy. Also, the haircut matched her theme perfectly. She ate healthy foods even when on diets, regaining life to her deathly pale skin and the bones weren't that visible now. She went to salons, studios, gyms and shopping.

Erza barely had any time to think about anything else.

When her debut album was released, over a million of copies were sold within an hour and more were pre-ordered. With its release, she topped all the charts, coming first place and already getting nominated for the artist of the year. After a month of debuting and going on promoting her album through TV shows, FE decided that she had enough fans to hold a solo concert. Hence, last night, she had her very first concert in the largest stadium of Japan.

All in one month.

She was a monster.

She had left artists, dancers, instructors and composers and every other person in the country, gaping. Leaving them to grab their jaws back up.

It had been her goal after all.

To make people love her music.

Erza placed the empty glass on the coffee table and stood up. She turned around, coming face to face with a large photo that consisted of her mother, father and her –while she was an infant and in her mother's arms. For a minute of staring at it, the red haired singer walked in to a hallway and opened the only door.

Changing her clothes that were appropriate for sleeping, Erza flopped on the king-sized bed.

Tomorrow, she'd be going back to college again. And all memories she had blocked will come back crashing down with the weight of it.

As she fell asleep, Erza wished that everyone will mind their own business.

XXXX

They were all in Aquarius's class when loud shrill screams startled them all. Everyone nearly jumped up in their seats –including Aquarius. Jellal's eyes were drooping close and his was body dropping down to the desk and he bolted upright, all sleepiness disappearing. Those types of screams had always scared him. Whenever he hear those types of screams, then that means he was going to get swamped by a horde of girls.

Jellal fought a shudder.

Even through the closed door, the screams were loud and clear.

"Erza-chan!"

His heart skipped a beat.

The doors to the class slid open and Erza Scarlet walked in wearing a pair of ripped boyfriend jeans and a short sleeved, loose black crop top with white graffiti on it. Her hair was loose with some bends here and there and her bangs were parted, resting on either side of her face. There was a black fashion backpack on her back. The redhead –with streaks of other colors now –shoved her hands into the front pockets of her jeans after closing the door and shutting out the screams somewhat.

The stiletto-heeled black platforms she wore clicked loudly on the wood as she walked forward, to her seat by Cana.

"You're late, Scarlet." Aquarius's annoyed voice for being interrupted echoed through the room.

Erza raised an elegant brow. Wasn't that very obvious?

"I won't tolerate a second time." The blue haired teacher continued when she didn't reply, her tone warning.

Jellal couldn't help but wonder who that girl on the row next to him was. She was so different. Including the air surrounding her. It was cold, void of any emotion.

No matter how much he tried not to think about her, Jellal couldn't help as his thoughts drifted off to happier times –with her.

XXXX

Ultear's lips trembled. She raised an equally shaking hand to her lips, trying to minimize it. She was on the college rooftop, the salad on her lap long forgotten as she concentrated on the voice of the other person she had contact with. Ultear needed sometime alone, away from everyone else so she had come up where anyone rarely came up.

She was about to dig into her fruit salad when her mobile rang. At first she had thought that her friends –when she was living back on the other side of the country – wanted to have a drink with her. They had been her closest friends before her mother married Gray's father and they always knew how to convince her to go out.

But when the debauched person of their group called her to ask about a certain _redhead_ , she felt the world crumble down on her. She shouldn't have asked _why_.

"What are you…" she tried to hide the tremor in her voice. "…talking about?" all her efforts were in vain though.

 _"Didn't you hear me sister?"_ The annoyed voice of Zancrow yelled on the other end. _"Didn't you tell me that I can go to that redhead?"_

"I didn't ask you to rape her." her voice trembled more than it did before. "I told you to have a drink with her." the dark haired dancer clenched her fist. Her fingers on her smartphone tightened.

Ultear could literally hear her heartbeat in her ears. It was the truth. The guys had been getting on her nerves saying that no girl wanted to have to drink with him. So, Ultear had pointed Erza to them, saying that she'd be good company.

In no universe did she ever imagine that he'd actually do something like that to her. Ultear hated Erza, of course but that didn't mean she wanted to go that far just to keep Jellal by her side. As a fellow woman, as a _human_ being, Ultear didn't have the heart to do something like that. She pressed her legs closer but the quivering never ceased.

No matter what, even if she didn't ask Zancrow to do something like that, Ultear felt like she was the one to be blamed. She felt guilty. Even though her hatred for Erza was fairly strong, she didn't want to take such cruel measures.

Her mind ran thousands of miles each second as the tears fell in straight lines.

"Why…" she managed to gasp. "Why?"

 _"Huh?"_ Zancrow yelled.

"Why did you rape Erza?!" Ultear asked, louder than she had intended. "You didn't actually do it, did you? You didn't, right? That isn't true, right? Tell me it's a lie. No, it _is_ a lie. Damn it Zancrow. You son of a bitch. You didn't do it." She cried, hitting on the railing.

 _"The bitch slapped me so I got pissed off. I wasn't thinking straight, sis, I swear. But that girl got the body of a goddess. Too bad I didn't get-"_

"The hell you're talking about, Ultear?"

The rest of Zancrow's voice fell deaf on her ears as the awfully familiar voice rang in her ears. Ultear looked up at the shocked emeralds of the person she once loved to her bones. He was right in front of her, fists clenched and face eerily calm.

"Jellal…I…" Ultear sighed.

She knew there was no way out.

XXXX

Jellal ran as fast as his legs would carry him. Blue hair waved in the wind and he saw everything pass in a blur as his eyes searched frantically for the familiar red hair –a color he had unconsciously loved so much. People turned to stare at him but Jellal could care less about them right now.

"Jell-whoa!" he ran past Gajeel who nearly toppled over Levy.

He had searched half of the campus but Erza was nowhere in sight. He felt the tears brimming at the corners, blurring his vision. But he wasn't going to cry. He didn't deserve to cry.

No tears will make up for the pain Erza felt. He was supposed to be by her side, protecting her. But when she almost got raped –a situation she needed someone to lean on –the only thing he did was break her even more. He should have known that something was wrong by how she was under that blonde. He should have trusted his gut and gone back to see what was _actually_ wrong. He should have asked her if she was ok instead of screaming at her.

He should have….

The night he broke all ties with her replayed over and over again in his mind. She was drenched wet and he didn't even care. She had confessed her love to him and he had brushed it off aside like it was nothing more than a scream from a crazy fan. There were so many emotions –pure and honest –swirling wildly within her auburn eyes. But he had ignored them because he thought she was just another woman who wanted him for his fame and beauty.

He had gone as far as calling her a _whore_ –not at her face, but still.

Right after two days since that incident, the death of Nana Scarlet –her mother –was announced. Jellal knew he couldn't possible imagine the pain she went through. No matter how much he tried, Jellal knew he could never get close to the hurt, the suffering, the sorrow she had gone through. Sure, he had lost his parents when he was in high school but Erza?

She didn't even know her parents until recently.

And to find her only remaining blood relative in a coma, Jellal wondered what exactly her heart is made out of. How could a single human being take so much pain? So much agony?

All at once.

Wasn't the world unfair?

He couldn't even begin to comprehend how broken she was.

He knew now, why her eyes looked void and lifeless. He could see why she looked so cold, so uncaring.

It was because she had nothing left.

Cruelty robbed her of whatever she was blessed with in life.

Jellal almost stumbled back when he bumped into someone outside the girl's toilet. He looked down when he heard a thump.

"Erza." He whispered breathlessly.

He could only stare as she stared back at him, face impassive. She stood up and dusted herself off and turned her back to him, walking away.

Snapping back to reality, without thinking, his hands flew to hers and turned her around in the deserted hallway.

Before any of them could comprehend what was happening, Jellal's lips were already on hers, his thumbs brushing her cheeks as his hands rested on the nape of her neck and jaw.

Erza's eyes grew wide as she pushed him away by his chest.

Before Jellal could utter a word, her hand flew to his cheek, slapping him.

 _Huh?_

It stung. His cheek stung. Slowly, Jellal turned to look at her who had her eyes narrowed –barely –as she stared at him.

Her face was unreadable. And her voice was ice cold when she spoke.

"Do you go around kissing anyone who crosses your path?"

His words right back at him. And it stung.

It stung more than her slap.

Jellal could only watch as Erza walked away from him. He didn't care even when he heard the hasty heels clicking on the marble floor.

"Hey." He heard a familiar voice followed by a tap on the shoulder.

Jellal turned around in time for another slap on the cheek.

"Asshole!" Cana screamed at his face before storming where Erza walked off to.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay soooo? I feel like I'm rushing things. Do you?**

 **Ugh! I couldn't get the feels right. *pulls hair* I'm sorry for the lame descriptions. I know this isn't my best but I just couldn't find where the problem was. Maybe I should find a beta?**

 **Anyway, let me know your thoughts too.**

 **I hope this was at least readable and you guys weren't that confused.**

 ***frowns* I don't like this chapter at all. There's something missing, don't you think?**


	9. Chapter 9 I'm Good

Kill me. Heal me

Chapter –9 ~I'm good~

* * *

Erza Scarlet walked as fast as she could. As far as her legs would carry her. She needed to get away. No, she didn't want to run. She just needed to be alone for some time. The bell indicating that lunch was over rang throughout he campus but Erza didn't heed it as she stormed off to kami knew where.

She was still walking. Even when sweat coated her temples, hair slicked to the side of her face and neck. Even when her legs trembled, begging her to stop. Even when her breathing got labored.

Just one kiss. And her resolve was already crumbling.

Erza's legs gave out and she fell on the grassy field behind the campus, breathing hard. Her fists clutched the grass underneath as she forced air into her lungs. She felt so many emotions go haywire within her.

After everything he had done, had said, he just come and kiss her whenever he felt like it? What was she, a doll? She wasn't someone he can just do whatever he wanted. She was a human being like him who has feelings, who has a heart but when it came to him…

She hated how lost she felt with him –with the things he does to her. She hated how she could take only much when it came to him.

Why was she like this? Why does she let herself be weak with him around?

A part of her wanted to go back to him, say that he was forgiven and kiss him senseless. But another part of her wanted to kick him out of the universe and slap him some more for taking her so slightly.

That son of a bitch.

He actually kissed her in the large hallway –even if it was deserted. After all he had done? After all he had said? He had actually come to her like nothing had between them? He was the worst type of person. For the past month and half, she had been trying to glue back all of the broken pieces. But with just one kiss from the person she had convinced herself that she hated the most was enough to crack it. How does he do that to her?

Why does he want to break her so badly? She didn't even do anything to him except loving him. Erza didn't know if she should use the past tense of present. She wasn't sure if she even hated him. She wasn't sure if she was over him, wasn't sure if she still loved him.

Hell, she didn't even feel like she had moved on at all.

She felt like she was still there, where everything had crumbled, where she had lost the person she loved most, where she lost her mother, hanging onto a thread that barely supported her, wishing for all to revert back to normal, back to how it was before.

Erza hated how Jellal made her feel so weak.

It was half thanks to him that she became what she is today. If he hadn't thrown her away like that, she might have clung onto him for support and would still be stuck with just a stupid college nobody.

Erza narrowed her eyes at the grass underneath her. She wasn't going to let him break her any more than he already has. She wasn't going to let him make her feel weak. Determination to be even stronger burned within her chocolate eyes.

She won't let anyone look down on her.

Cana stood a good distance away, watching her friend sitting on the ground, eyes staring off into space. She wanted go there and comfort her but Cana knew what Erza needed right now was some time alone. She knew she was having an internal battle with herself that only she can find the answers to. She will only pressure her.

So, the brunette turned around and walked back to the campus, praying that her friend would be alright.

XXXX

Jellal knew the reason Ryusei was called to FE was because the band was going to make a comeback. But what he didn't know was that he'd be doing a solo album. The blue haired singer could only stare at the president as he broke the news. There were smirks on all his band mate's faces and he didn't know why they were so happy since it was only him going solo.

"You're the most popular one out of the rest. So, the management had decided that you do a solo album right after Ryusei's comeback album." Igneel informed the shock struck teen.

"Congrats man!" Gajeel slapped him on the back.

"I always knew you'd be the first one of us to fly solo." Laxus kicked him under the table they sat at.

"Well, I certainly am jealous but man, what can I do when you're more talented and popular than I am?" Natsu intertwined his fingers behind his head.

"Just don't mess up. I might take your place if you do." Gray sent him a smirk.

Natsu snorted. "Like hell you can. There's no way you can go solo with that singing of yours."

"I don't sing. I rap. And unlike you, I actually have some talent." He dark haired man retorted in his defense.

"What was that?!" Natsu snapped his head at Gray.

They both glared at each other and just when they were about to pounce on each other, Igneel cleared his throat.

"I haven't finished, yet." He sent both of them a glare and turned to Jellal.

"You will be collaborating with someone for your title song." He paused to look at some papers sprawled in front of him. "I suggested Mira-Jane. She is, as you know, the best from Kappa but the majority of the management disagreed."

Ryusei raised an eyebrow at this.

"Apparently, they said it'd be better if we feature Erza in your song."

Jellal tried his best to remain calm.

"Since our main goal is popularity, they said it'd be best if you collaborated with the most popular pop star in the country right now. I hope you don't have any objections to this, Jellal?" the chairman looked up at the blue haired singer.

Jellal thought about it. This was the best chance to make it up for her. Even though she had no intention of forgiving him, he can still try, right? He can try and earn her love and trust again, right?

But, what would Erza say? What if she denies the request?

His band-mates had no idea that something happened between them. They still keep teasing him about her and he couldn't bring himself to tell the truth.

"What about Erza?" he dared to ask though.

"Oh, she already agreed." Igneel said nonchalantly, oblivious to the surprise Jellal felt by his answer.

"I'm in." he whispered in the silent meeting room.

"Good. Your theme is about a past love."

Ironic.

"Your team will be waiting in Erza's studio and I suggest you start preparing right away. This album must mean a lot to you." The older man smiled at him, who in turn tried to return it.

"As for the group album…"

XXXX

Jellal was sitting in the recording studio, staring at the lyrics in his hands that were half completed –the half Erza wrote. Her words perfectly matched his theme. He leaned forward on the couch, elbows on his knees as he read the words again. He lifted his gaze to the redhead speaking with a composer in a corner of the room, then back at the paper.

He sighed, wondering what he should add to his part, tapping one foot on the carpeted floor.

He and Erza haven't talked since that day at the hallway which was almost six days ago. The have been working together, in the same room sometimes, but she had yet to look at him in the eyes. If anyone asked for him, she'd just sent a message with only about two words. If they were in the same room, she'd stay in the furthest corner. If they were alone, she'd always find an excuse to leave.

Jellal sighed again, wondering if he'll make his first solo album a success. She was featuring in his title song, not just a random song in the album. They'd have to sing together on promoting shows and sometimes maybe during FE's concert where all artists in FE performed.

Macao, a songwriter came up beside him and began discussing about the lyrics, forcing him to take his mind off of a certain redhead.

Jellal's resolve was firm and unwavering. He was going to make it up for her, no matter how long it took, no matter how hard it is.

XXXX

Two months passed in a blur with everyone busy preparing for Ryusei's comeback and Jellal's solo album. On top of it, the semester-end evaluation was only a month away. Even though they were preparing for a comeback, Igneel hadn't allowed them to skip college or any classes for that matter. The managers had been preparing a schedule that fit all their college classes first before going to any celebrity matters like, modeling or advertising. Though the latter had been only for a while and had completely stopped during the middle of first semester.

It was almost an hour past midnight. Jellal was still in the studio room, practicing the dance for his title song. The solo album meant the world to him. He was going to make sure he went all out with it. Ever since Ryusei's debut, he had wanted to go solo –without his friends backing him up.

His album was going to be released within twenty-four hours from now. Exactly on one in the next morning. And he felt so restless. He wanted to sure he made no mistake on stage while singing live and dancing.

When the teasers went out on social media, what everyone talked about was how it will be to watch him alone on stage, asking if he will rock the stage, set it on fire like when he had his friends. They asked if he'd look good with Erza beside him. The images and videos went viral throughout the internet, surpassing millions within only an hour, but the popularity didn't ease him one bit. He wanted everything to be _perfect_.

He wanted _everything_ to be perfect.

And that included his relationship with Erza. At least being her friend was enough. But he knew, with how things were going, it still was a faraway dream that was being deemed even further now. They had practiced the choreography together and she still didn't speak to him.

The music video consisted of them laughing, him hugging her lovingly. Even then, she had refused to talk to him, look him in the eye. During the time they recorded the song, she had glanced at him briefly when he went a bit off-key. That was it. That was the first and last time.

"Exhausting yourself will do you no good."

He froze, almost snapping his neck when turned around in the dimly lit room to gaze into her brown eyes.

There she stood, wearing a pair of black tights and skin-tight shirt of the same color, arms crossed as she leaned against the sliding door.

Jellal wanted to pinch himself in case he might be dreaming. "You…" he began but was cut off when she spoke again, turning around to walk away.

"Nothing changes, Fernandez."

A smile broke on his face as he watched her retreating figure.

"I don't care." He whispered.

Jellal wanted to jump up as high as he could and do some sort of jig. All this time he had been waiting for her to exchange a word with him. He had been trying for two freaking months to gain her attention, to find a chance to speak with her but to no avail. And when he lost all hope, beating himself up with late practices, she had come told him that hurting himself will do him no good.

It sounded like she cared for him.

A spark of hope lit in his heart once again.

XXXX

Jellal sighed, hopping lightly on the spot with his mike attached and ready to storm on the stage anytime. He wore all white; a white button down shirt and a white blazer atop it with skinny pants that weren't too fit. His hair, was the usual; spiky but the spray on it gave him a more sexy look.

"Are you nervous, Erza?" he turned to the redhead next to him.

She was the complete opposite of him. The black, sleeveless crop topshop she wore exposed her long and slender arms while the black sheer skirt with a slit on one side revealed her long legs clad in a pair of black strappy heels. Her always wavy hair was straightened, with the bangs resting on her forehead. She had minimum makeup on for such a popular celebrity; only mascara and pink lip gloss.

But that was enough to make her the most beautiful person on the face of Earth.

He turned his head back to the girl group that was performing on stage when she didn't reply. He didn't let it upset him though. The fact that she agreed to feature in his song was more than enough. And she had already said a full sentence to him yesterday. It was more than what he deserved for the things he did to her.

They didn't have to wait long. The girl performing on the stage bowed and stepped off while the hosts for the live TV show took their place.

They gave him smiles, winks and waves as the band walked past him, trying their best to sway their hips as sexily as possible. But Jellal knew they can never be like Erza.

His name was announced and the lights turned off. Erza and Jellal walked on stage and stood in the middle, him facing his back to her while Erza did the opposite. It her verse that came first, after all.

 _Forget, let's forget  
Let go, let's let go  
I'll erase, I'll erase you  
Because I've been doing fine without you_

 _It was good you left me  
It was good you left me  
It was good that we ended, that we broke up  
Forget it all, let's forget it all_

Jellal turned around when the chorus came, dancing with her.

 _I'm good alone  
I'm good alone  
I have no feelings, I'm not even mad  
I don't have any tears_

 _I don't need you  
I don't need you  
Don't even talk about past love  
I don't think you really know me_

Erza took a step back, joining with the backup dancers while Jellal sang his version, doing little dance moves that awed the audience.

 _Are we dating to fight?  
I'm so sick of getting angry  
I didn't know our love would go awry  
And be this painful_

 _It was good you left me  
It was good you left me  
It was good that we ended, that we broke up  
I hope you end up with a guy you want_

Erza came back to stand beside him when the chorus came again, singing together, dancing together. He didn't want to relate the lyrics to her though. But this was a past love the two were singing about and all he could think was about her. Ultear barely, no never, registered in his mind as they danced, singing their feelings out.

He felt like she was saying it all to him.

 _I'm good alone  
I'm good alone  
I have no feelings, I'm not even mad  
I don't have any tears_

 _I don't need you  
I don't need you  
Don't even talk about past love  
I don't think you really know me_

 _I'm good alone  
We weren't meant to be  
I'm good alone  
Now I finally know  
I hope you're happy_

The duo finished the song with Jellal, one hand in his pocket, his left side to the camera and audience, eyes staring down at the floor while Erza leaned on his back; gaze upward with a sad expression sporting her face.

It took a minute for the audience to break in applauding, screaming and whatnot that showed their support.

When they reached backstage, Erza didn't even bother to look at him as she walked past him, disappearing into a room at the end of the hallway.

XXXX

The morning papers next day declared that Jellal and Erza had officially become the IT couple of Asia.

It was the weekend. And the agency had told them that they'd be going outside of Magnolia district and out of Tokyo for some much needed promotion. And so, early Sunday morning, they had climbed into the black van, driving out to the countryside.

They –as in Erza and Jellal –watched the van park outside a huge park. Screams were heard all the way to the van. It was autumn and a little cold for an outdoor concert but they didn't complain.

Erza tapped the heels of her black pumps on the seat in front of her while she read some news on a Table in her hands. She wanted to be anywhere but here –with Jellal. She had only come because the crowd here demanded that he sing the title song for them and it compelled her to come with him. She had nothing to do but study all day for the semester end exams. She wasn't in the mood for studying, so she decided to come and help out the blue haired singer.

Jellal was on the other side of the van and she didn't even glance at him even once. She didn't want to. She was still angry that she had gone to his practice studio and told him not to beat himself up. Well, he had been annoying. He looked like he was going to kill himself with practices and it got on her nerve. If he got stupid and injured himself before the release of his album, then all her efforts would be in waste, wouldn't it?

So, Erza decided that it wasn't worry she felt for him.

"We're here." The driver said as pulled over in front of the back entrance.

Jellal was the first one to step out. He held the door for her but she didn't even thank him as she quickly walked in.

The concert began with a random song from Jellal's solo album which was a huge hit. It was only two days since its release and it was selling more than any of Ryusei's albums did. the title song was reserved for the last since it was what the fans demanded most and it gave her more time to get ready.

Erza sat in the waiting room, waiting for the assistants to call for her, wearing the exact same outfit and styled the same she did for the first show except everything this time was all white while Jellal was all black.

"Miss Scarlet, you're on." Erza stood up and walked out of the door, to the stage where Jellal was ready.

XXXX

The show was a blast, like every other concert they had. Erza waved at the fans screaming her name with a small –barely there –smile on her face. they duo was making their way back to the waiting room and the fans had rushed towards them giving the security a hard time to hold them back in line. Erza almost felt sorry for the poor guys trying their best to keep the rabid fans away from them.

And then, her eyes fell on something familiar.

Her breath hitched as she saw the familiar smirk of a certain blonde, his eyes roaming over her body like a hungry beast, like a cat eyeing a slice of meat. She felt the goosebumps on her arms. Erza was sure she was over the incident. She was sure she forgot about that man's hands all over her body.

She felt her limbs tremble as she walked right side by side with Jellal, hoping, praying that he won't notice. She saw Zancrow move within the crowd, coming towards her and her breathing began to get labored as every fiber of her being screamed at her to run, to escape away from that man's prying eyes. She could literally feel the man undressing, ripping her clothes off.

The night she was almost raped played over and again in her mind. By the time she reached the hallway that led to their waiting rooms, she was trembling from head to toe. She hugged her arms, to reduce the quiver but to no avail.

She could only hope that the man won't slip through security.

She saw his eyes telling her that he had come to finish what he started and she shuddered at that thought, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes.

XXXX

Jellal was utterly happy that his concert went perfectly well. His gazed at his partner beside him, walking real slowly, taking a step only when he did. Jellal didn't want to rush going inside. But he didn't know why Erza was walking so slowly when every time she walked past him, leaving him behind. He slipped his hands into the skinny pants he wore and stared down at the floor, wondering if she had anything to say to him

But then, he noticed the tremble in her legs. With every step she took, her legs trembled even more, looking like she may slip anytime. He looked up at her whose gaze was locked on the floor, hands around her arms. There was a slight tremble in her fingers that sometimes worsened.

He wondered if she was ok.

Jellal stopped in front of his waiting room and turned his head to see Erza walk in a turtle's pace, her legs shaking even more, hell, even her whole body began to quiver.

Jellal frowned. But turned the doorknob and stepped inside, wondering if he should ask her if she was alright.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a blonde man wearing the security's uniform rush through the hallway.

XXXX

She grabbed the knob with shaking hands and barely managed to slip in before her legs gave out, sending her to the ground. Her fingers loosened on the doorknob and her hand fell to her side as she tried to calm herself.

Taking long breaths and thinking about anything that took her mind off of the man, Erza shakily stood up. She heaved a sigh when the shaking stopped but not entirely.

The redhead turned around to close the door but her eyes widened, her breath leaving.

"Missed me, sweetheart?" Erza took a step back, the trembling ten times worse than before.

Zancrow closed the door behind him and smirked at her.

"I did." he said taking a step closer and Erza took a hasty one back, her breathing echoing in the room.

No matter how scared she felt, Erza pulled on a tough face, willing herself to be strong.

"I did so much I barely got any sleep at all. I tried finding you but you were guarded pretty well, princess. I was…" her back hit the wall and he smirked victoriously, coming closer to her. "I was so disappointed. And then I heard you were coming here." Zancrow placed a hand beside her head on the wall and Erza turned away, holding her breath.

"That was when I decided to pay you a visit, my dear." He inched closer to her face, his index finger brushing a strand of scarlet away.

She watched in panic as his lips came closer to hers. She raised her hand to slap him again, but he held it above her head.

"Uh-uh. Not gonna work a second time." He whispered in her ear.

He had her locked under him. The position felt so similar, she could barely think straight. Damn, she couldn't think at all.

This time, her mother wasn't there to save her. Cana wasn't there either.

The tears fell again, without her permission, ignoring her protests.

She could feel his stinky breath on her face and she tried in vain, her eyes shut close, to stop his lips from touching her face. Just when she thought he was going to ravish her like a wild animal, she heard the door to her waiting room open and the next moment, she felt Zancrow being ripped off her.

A choked gasp escaped her throat as the hands and legs that pushed up against the wall disappeared. Her legs gave out and she crouched down, holding her head, scared to her bones.

She heard many footsteps and then a pair of strong arms encased around her. Instincts kicking in, Erza screamed, trying to pry them off of her.

"It's ok, It's ok." She heard a familiar voice whisper. "I'm here." She felt the hold around her tighten.

Erza tried to calm her breathing and think straight. But, she could barely see anything around her.

"You're safe." The same voice whispered.

Her vision cleared enough to see the blue hair of Jellal holding her tightly before darkness engulfed her.

* * *

 **A/N: Yo! I'm late?**

 **No?**

 **Thanks ^^ haha that wasn't very funny. Anyways, I'd like to thank you all for the reviews, follows and favorites. :D**

 **As for the song I used, it's I'm Good by EunJung (Elsie) and the song I used in the previous chapter is Mind Your Own Business by Ailee :D**

 **Gomen for the mistakes. I sort of finished this just now and there might more mistakes than any other chap. So, very gomen for that. I'll come back and correct it all, I promise.**

 **Good night minna-san ^^ (well, it's night here, so…)**

 **I hope to wake up to some reviews :D**

 **Ja!**


	10. Chapter 10 Abduction

**A/N: I am so sorry for the late update. I had some internet problems and some other stuff too. But please, read this author's note and give me your suggestions. Through a PM or a review, I don't care but I'd like it if I get some replies ^^**

 **QUICK QUESTION: Would you guys prefer if Erza continue her singing career as a solo artist or join a girl band?**

 **Enjoy!**

Kill me. Heal me

Chapter –10 ~Abduction~

* * *

Jellal paced back and forth in the room, his mind unable to stop thinking about how Erza was shaking like a leaf earlier. Something about her was off. She was perfectly fine even when the show was over. It was sometime around walking back to the waiting rooms, she broke like that. Not taking any more chances when something so terrible had already happened to her because his judgment was clouded by a past betrayal, Jellal decided to check on her.

He opened the door to his waiting room as silently as possible and slipped into the hallway, the expensive shoes he wore not making any sound against the marble tiles. He stopped in front of another door, a board next to it displaying Erza's name. He let his hands hover over the doorknob before slowly turning it and peeking inside. There was no trace of anyone inside but his eyes stopped on the mirror in a corner, showing the reflection of the back of the blonde guard he saw earlier and what he saw next made his blood boil. In that moment, Jellal knew who he was and what he was doing.

He didn't wait and he stormed into the room and ripped the blonde man off of Erza who gasped loudly. He didn't wait for his reaction and punched him on the jaw creating a bloody lip. Jellal didn't care as he grabbed the guard in disguise by his collar and kneed him in the gut that sent him flying across the room, his back hitting on a table that slipped away and crashed into the mirror, creating a huge commotion that made the other guards on standby rush into the room.

Jellal quickly walked over to Erza's crouched form and wrapped his arms around her.

"It's ok, its ok." He tried to reassure her knowing that it was pointless and tightened his grip around her. "I'm here." He tried to blink back the tears that threatened to fall.

"You're safe." He whispered into her hair.

Her shaking stopped and her breathing even out a little bit. Jellal wanted to punch the guy a little more. He deserved more than a punch to the jaw and a kick to the gut.

The blue haired singer looked down at the girl in his arms when all movement stopped. He watched her brows scrunched together, sweat slicked face as she lay unconscious in his arms. He felt like a complete and utter asshole.

"I'm sorry." He said softly, brushing back some strands that fell on her face.

XXXX

A nightmare was what woke her, what made her jolt upright. She calmed her breathing and tried to remember what had happened. The last time she remembered, she had finished a show at the countryside. And had met Zancrow.

Her eyes widened, senses peaked and body on alert. She took in her surroundings and noticed that the dimly lit room was her bedroom. How and when she got there, Erza had no idea.

"You're up." A deep baritone voice nearly startled her. She turned to face the familiar blue haired singer sitting in a lone armchair on the left side of her bed staring at her through his bangs. She wasn't the least bit surprised to see him there when the recent memories crashed on her. She hated herself for being weak and relying on him for help. A person she never wanted to have any sort of connections ever.

"Get out." She said running her fingers on her temple and pushing it back into her hair.

"No words of gratitude or apology? You just want me to leave? Just like that?" he asked not changing the way he was slumped on the chair, his eyes never leaving her face.

"I never asked you to help me." She gritted her teeth and stared at him silently demanding that he step out of her house this instant.

Jellal didn't say anything. Instead, they had a heated glaring contest, communicating through their eyes.

Jellal, demanding why she was so cold now. Not like he didn't know the reason why but he only wanted to help her, to make up for the pain he inflicted on her and why wouldn't accept him. He wasn't going to ask for anything in return, he wasn't going to ask for her love again. He knew perfectly well that he didn't deserve it. But at least she could open up to him instead of bottling everything up and shutting everyone out.

Erza, commanding him to stop prying and to stay out of her business. He had no right to concern himself in her matters, matters she could clearly take care of on her own. He could go and help others who are actually asking for it. There was a reason why she wasn't going to let him in. there was a reason why she didn't want to see him, why she didn't want to share even a single word with him. he didn't deserve any of it. He didn't deserve her.

So, why?

Why was he trying so hard to get something he didn't deserve? Why was he so hell bent on helping when he shoved her away so coldly before, during that time she actually needed a person?

He was the worst type of person.

Coming to her whenever he wanted. Leaving her whenever he felt like it. Could there be anything harsher than that?

"Get out." She said again.

This time, Jellal complied. He walked out without looking back at her. Because he knew, if he did, he won't be able to leave her alone.

Erza sighed ruffling her hair. She felt guilty. She felt guilty for forcing him to leave without as much as a word of gratitude or an expression of apology like he had asked. She hated how she felt like this. She hated how protected she felt when he encased his arms around her.

Erza knew, no matter how much she tried to deny, the feelings she had for Jellal will never disappear. It had been strong and quite sturdy, even for a first time. And it wasn't something that was going to disappear with some misunderstanding on his part.

But stubbornness was in her blood and she couldn't give in so easily.

XXXX

"What…." The only person who was able to utter a single word was Mira.

They were all –as in members of Kappa and Ryusei, minus Jellal –were at one of FE studios. They had come as soon as they heard about Erza getting attacked by a security guard who wasn't on the list. Thankfully for the redheaded super star, the news hadn't reached the media.

That was why Ultear had decided to open up to them, telling them of her heinous acts. The jealousy she felt for someone who was a nobody but had the qualities and abilities to be someone far greater than she ever could become, compelled her to take such rash and drastic actions that nearly ended destroying a life and the person she wanted to have most.

She apologized over and over again knowing that the word in itself wasn't going to make up for her actions. But that was the only thing she could do, apologize and apologize a little more. What could she possibly do?

"You…would do something like that?" Natsu asked, his fists clenched at his sides, his eyes raging with hatred. "You don't deserve to be forgiven."

"I know. I was so lost in my feelings that weren't even as deep as what they had. And in the end, it clouded my judgment. I've got nothing else but sorry to say. I'm sorry." Ultear had already lost count of how many times she had said that.

Lucy, Levy and Juvia were openly crying. Mira tried her best to remain as calm as possible but her heart was wailing inside. They had been such bastards to her.

"That isn't even half of it." The pop groups turned their heads when a new voice spoke from the doorway.

"You don't even know half of it, so don't act like you understand." Cana said stepping further in, her expression impassive.

"Then do you?!" Natsu bellowed, rising to his feet. Cana just stared at him.

"Of course I do."

"We're trying to understand, okay?" Gray said calmly, not looking up at her but staring at the wooden floor instead.

"Pity isn't what Erza needs. If you're going to pity her, then I won't allow you to go near her." Cana said thrusting her hands into the pockets of her skinny jeans and turned to leave.

"What are you, her guardian?" Gajeel asked, a slight snort leaving him.

"Something like that. But remember, don't pity her. No matter how much you try to understand, you won't know the depth of her pain. I've been there by her side but I still don't know how deep it runs."

They stared at the brown haired rapper's retreating back, her words replaying in their heads like a broken record.

XXXX

The end of year exams came rather quickly with everyone as busy as they could, practicing for them. The last exam, which was the practical test ended only the day before. Most of their Christmas breaks were spent on practice, which dissatisfied all of them but didn't dare to complain about it for the fear of getting failed even before the exams could start. Everyone had hoped that they did well and was impatiently waiting for the results to come out, eager to know who gets to debut this time. And most importantly, after a year, a lot of people were wondering if Kappa or Ryusei was getting disbanded, which was highly unlikely but given the strict marking criteria, it was possible though no one had seen any faults with those bands.

And that was why Erza wondered why she was at the classroom when her first year, thankfully, was over. The students were buzzing about the possible reason but Erza paid no heed to them. She just crossed her arms and stared ahead, tilting her head a bit to show her disinterest.

It was the beginning of spring and she wished to see the flowers. She remembered the first time she stepped foot into the district that was dubbed as the Flora of Japan. It wasn't impossible to see all and any flowers existing in nature here in the lovely district which was originally her hometown.

She wondered if accepting the scholarship from the college she was at now was a good idea. Nothing ever good happened since she came here, except for Cana of course. She had thought that meeting Jellal was a blessing, a way to turn her life over but he had been a curse in disguise. Terrible things happened after she met him.

But she experienced so many things, she learned so many things. She was who she is today partly because of the specific man. And for that she was grateful. If he had been there for her, she'd kept on relying on him, asking for his support. Now that gave her the visual of the perfect damsel in distress.

"Morning, you lazy bums." Aquarius smacked some papers on the table to gain attention, though her voice alone completed that task very well.

Erza glanced at her once before looking at something beside her.

"You guys are pretty tired from staying up late studying and practicing right?"

Everyone –save for some –drawled out a lazy yes.

"And you all know that the same would be done in the next year, right? For the rest of your college days too."

There were some groans and sighs.

"But!" she slammed the papers again. "The management had noticed your hard work and had decided to plan a trip…"

"Where?" Natsu cut her off with a huge grin on his face and leaned forward in his chair, rather eager.

"Silence!" the blue haired teacher roared and some winced.

"The fourth years will be going to Hokkaido. Third years will be going to Yokohama and the second years will be going to Fukushima and you brats…" she paused and eyed them when some leaned forward in their seats, eyes curious and big.

"…you brats got…" she paused again to sigh.

"Hurry up already sensei!" Natsu yelled again.

"Okinawa Island. You guys got Okinawa."

It took a moment for them to process the information and the moment it did, everybody jumped up in their seats, shouting that their college was the best.

"Silence!" Aquarius roared and everyone froze in place, slowly sitting back. "We will be leaving in two days so that it'd give you enough time to pack whatever you need to. And this…" she raised the bundle of papers she used to smack on her desk earlier. "…is your schedule for your one week stay there."

"One week?!" one student repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, one week. Why? Too long? I can always reduce it to one. Wait, let me give the management a call." She grabbed her phone but the class erupted in a chorus of 'no'.

Aquarius smirked. She just loved teasing her brats.

"Well then, what are you waiting for? Go, get out. Leave!"

For the first time through the whole year of teaching them, her students were rather quick to heed her words.

XXXX

Magnolia district was now the second most beautiful place for her. Now that they have come to Okinawa, this place was her number one. The crystalline clear water was so beautiful and surreal, like a place straight out of a painting. The white sandy beach looked so soft and Erza wanted to just lie there forever.

Any device that fulfilled the job taking a picture was out and clicking at everything and anything they saw, the sound of snap filling the whole bus they were traveling in. the window she was beside obstructed a vast view of the breathtaking scenery before her but she wasn't going to complain. She can always explore later.

The hotel they were staying in was no joke. It made her wonder how the school management was even able to afford such an expensive place for all the first years to stay. And there still were three other graders.

Oh yes, they had a fund raising event some time ago. She had heard that the rich kids' parents had donated billions and trillions of dollars and looked like it wasn't just a joke.

This was proof right in front of her.

The teachers appointed everyone to their rooms. The celebrities –as in Erza, Cana, Ryusei and Kappa –were appointed with suites, a separate one for the girls and boys for security reasons. Fans might try to sneak up on them, they said.

It wasn't impossible though. The overly obsessed might try a stunt or two to see their beloved idols.

There were three rooms in each suite and the teachers left them to decide who will become whose roommate for seven days. Erza stayed silent while Cana and Kappa members decided on roommates. Erza sighed, annoyed at their loud voice and with the jetlag finally kicking in, the redhead decided to take a random room to take a nap, leaving the girls to argue about roommates.

XXXX

Jellal stretched, a sigh escaping his lips and adjusted his ash-brown framed Ray ban wayfarer and looked up at the sky, as if challenging the sun to attack his eyes through the dark lens. The winter cold still lingered but not as much as he needed to coat and scarf just to step outside the balcony, a pair of sly blue fitting jeans and white plain white shirt did just fine. He exercised a little bit and sighed again. Okinawa was like a magical place to relax and just feel happy. He stretched a little more and noticed the balcony door next to his room open.

He leaned on the balcony; elbows propped on the railing and watched as Erza stepped out into the balcony. There was only a thick wall and a vase on top of it that separated them and he wanted to kick it away so that he could touch her, to see if the slight smile on her face actually real and not just something he was just imagining because of the longing to see her beautiful smile that radiated so much warmth. She mimicked his position except she was looking straight up ahead while his head was turned sideways, looking at her intently.

Jellal wanted to hug her.

But first, he needed to get close to her. A light bulb went off in his head. Jellal lowered his gaze to the low-built wall between them. Maybe he could go around the vase and jump on the other side and into the girls' suite. He looked down and sighed dejectedly. They were fifty floors up and pulling a stunt like that might cause him a premature death. And he had no intention of dying before reconciling with Erza.

Jellal slid the door open and stepped inside the air-conditioned room, sliding the door close behind him. He thought of how he could talk to Erza during this little trip. Surely, she'd try every method out there to avoid him…

"So, what's the plan?" Laxus asked with a smirk, putting an arm around his blue haired friend's shoulders.

"Mission Abduction: Capture Erza Scarlet." Jellal said and began biting his fingernails, eyes staring off into space as his mind played out the possible scenarios.

"I think it'd be Mission Impossible: Erza Escaped." Gray mumbled lazily flipping through the pages of a fashion magazine.

"No, she can't if we help, right Jellal?" Natsu rose up from the bed and smacked his fist into his palm.

"Right." Jellal replied absentmindedly, eyes narrowed a little.

"If this fails, I'm gonna barbecue your butt, Dragneel." Gajeel said and Natsu turned to look at him, a blank expression sporting his face.

"You're joining too?"

"Like hell I'm missing you guys getting screwed up." The dark haired rapper snorted.

"Hey! _I_ will make sure this mission is a complete success, you hear dumbass!" Natsu retorted, ears steaming and face red from anger of being looked down on. At least, what he thought.

"Who're you calling a dumbass, you knucklehead?!"

Natsu rolled his arms and cracked his neck before lunging at Gajeel with a battle cry. "Your fate has been sealed when you messed with me buddy, I thought you were cool!"

Gray decided to stay out of a brawl for once even when a pillow hit him on the back of the head. A cushion fell on the magazine he was reading followed by some clothes and water? –Probably from the bathroom, but how… -and a chair after that. But a suitcase hitting the back of his head was his breaking point. Gray got up and shouted at them to stop their immature fights and do something meaningful but the two celebrities only attacked him in reply, saying that he wasn't making any sense. Gray decided to fight back in his defense. He had been patient enough hadn't he?

Laxus and Jellal sat on the couch on the other side of the room, overlooking the ocean through the large windows, discussing about how to kidnap Erza, oblivious to the chaos that was happening behind them.

XXXX

They had reached Okinawa in the afternoon and since many were jetlagged, the teachers decided that it'd be best if they rested a bit. A bit turned to hours and it was in the morning they were called to a private dining room for breakfast. The beds were too comfortable and some still grumbled about leaving such a heavenly feel. Erza didn't complain though, since the first day was self-exploring day. The only rule they had was to return before ten pm. Going to college had never been this fun before and gratitude the teachers received almost made them uncomfortable, leaving them to wonder of the kids' mentality was normal.

A pair of white converse and a red loose top with a spaghetti strap and a pair of sky blue short shorts were her ideal clothes for the self-exploring day. Since it was hot, she decided to wear a straw sun hat with a black ribbon tied around it and a pair of turquoise-framed Teashade sunglasses. The outfit was perfect, she thought, even if a fan or a reporter sees her. She wasn't going to be critiqued for improper outfit for a celebrity or anything of that sort.

Erza watched as students leave after finishing their breakfast, making her wonder where she should head first. She had forgotten to bring her bag where the map was and sighed as she stepped out of the large hotel. If she got lost, she can always ask for directions from the locals, right?

So, Erza turned left to explore away the beauty of Okinawa but stopped when three young men stood in front of her, hands crossed at their chest. Natsu had his eyes narrowed at her while Gray looked like he was constipated and avoided her gaze and Gajeel looked like he could care less about anything with a blank face.

She stared at them in confusion and suddenly, Natsu pointed a finger at her.

"Erza Scarlet, you!" he said gritting his teeth and narrowed his to slits. "You are under arrest!"

Erza raised an elegant brow.

Gajeel and Gray turned their heads to look at him like he was crazy.

"I don't have time for this." the redhead mumbled and turned to walk the other way.

"Halt!" she heard Natsu yell and she stopped when a whistle echoed through the air. "Stop right there!" she heard him shout again but continued walking until a familiar blonde stepped in front of her.

"Excuse me but I'm going this way."

Erza sighed. Did these guys hit their heads somewhere? The road was huge and he wasn't that bulky to not fit on the same side as where she was walking on. She tried taking a step forward but Laxus extended his arm right in front of her face.

"Yo Blondie over there! Do you know that helping a criminal is also a crime?" Natsu shouted again, his voice playful than serious.

Erza pushed his arm away and walked forward but the sound of tires screeching compelled her to look to the side of the road where an expensive looking red convertible pulled over. She noticed the blue hair of Jellal but before she could place everything, Laxus grabbed her upper arm when Jellal opened the passenger seat and shoved her in forcefully. The blue haired singer drove away before Laxus could even shut the door properly.

"Yo blue-die over there! Do you know that assisting a criminal is a crime?" Natsu shouted, trying to imitate a girl's voice.

Gajeel and Gray watched the car disappear.

"Where did you learn to say those stuff anyway?" Gray asked.

"I have been watching movies." Natsu replied and blew the whistle again.

His band mates bonked him on the head simultaneously.

"I've been thinking of becoming an actor." The pink haired singer replied as if nothing had happened.

XXXX

Erza was beyond furious. How dare they do whatever they want with her? And she hated herself for letting them take advantage of her momentary surprise, wondering what on earth was happening.

"What is the meaning of this?!" she demanded turning to face Jellal who kept on driving at full speed without glancing her even once.

"Taking you out to a drive, what else do you think?" he replied nonchalantly, face as blank as how she saw him the first time. "Now make sure this expensive rent doesn't go to waste, would you?" he tilted his head to glance at her briefly, sending her a handsome smile before looking back at the road.

Her retort died on her lips as chocolate eyes landed on the scenery around them. They were on a bridge, above a beautiful sea so vibrant and so clean the white sand under was visible clearly.

"Reminds me of Aquarius." Erza said absentmindedly.

"Doesn't it?" Jellal said a bit too quickly and way too excitedly, a huge grin breaking on his face.

Erza looked at him, brows furrowed. "I wasn't talking to you."

"Right." The blue haired singer nodded, pressing his lips together but smiled when she looked away.

He was way too happy to feel down by her cold words when his plan was working. A surprised yelp forced him to look at the young woman beside him briefly. His smile only grew wider at the pout on her lips when her hat flew away with the wind.

Together, they explored the majesty of Okinawa. Jellal watched her while she took pictures and in case she might snap at him again, he walked a bit behind her hands in his pockets and the smile on his face near-permanent. Taking pictures and sightseeing wasn't important to him.

Erza was.

Her happiness was what mattered. And with that smile on her beautiful face, Jellal knew she was enjoying. He could barely take his eyes off her. it had been too long since he had seen her like this.

Erza turned around to look at him and Jellal was quick to look away but caught the suspicious twist of her lips. Thanks to his sunglasses, he was still able to see her though his head was turned. Erza turned away again and from the glass door of a café, he saw the reflection of a very familiar blonde. He stopped and pulled his sunglasses down a bit so that he could be certain of who that was, sneaking up on them.

Jellal pushed the sunglasses up when he recognized the familiar frame of Jason, the reporter who just loved to yell cool and create scandalous rumors about any celebrity he felt like writing about. And he had always been spot on with everything. The man was psychic, Jellal thought.

If he manage to take a picture of him and Erza, it'd pay him in millions since they were already labeled as the IT couple of Asia. Besides, he wasn't going to make things harder on Erza when she didn't even want to date him. he wasn't going to let him ruin the perfect opportunity to make up for the bad he had done to her.

So, Jellal grabbed Erza's upper arm and stopped her in her tracks. She tried elbowing him but his grip only hardened. His emerald orbs never left Jason preparing his camera for the perfect shot through the glass.

"There's a reporter behind us." He said into her ear, standing right behind her, their bodies nearly pressed together and he could feel the slight tremble of her hands.

She nodded as she saw the blonde man through the glass door. Jellal slid his fingers down her arm and she felt rather uncomfortable but decided to ignore it since she knew he was going to help her.

Again.

He intertwined their fingers and ran.

XXXX

"Hm?" Jason mumbled looking at the spot where the most loved teen singers were a moment ago. "Where'd they go?"

XXXX

"…I hereby announce…" Igneel looked up the many reporters snapping pictures of him. "…the disbandment of Kappa."

* * *

 **A/N: Another cliff hanger? Whoops! Sorry not sorry.**

 **Thank you minna-san for the many reviews, follows and favorites. I really appreciate it. You guys are truly the best! ^^ :D**

 **Don't forget to review this chapter too, okay?**

 **Ja!**

 **okay, so i edited it now and if there are any more mistakes then forgive me. it might have slipped while i checked but I hope you enjoyed the chapter. (:**


	11. Chapter 11

***Drops the chapter and runs away***

* * *

Kill me. Heal me

Chapter –11

* * *

 _A week before the announcement_

Erza forcefully stopped Jellal. She needed to catch her breath. She was sure, by now, whoever was on their tail would have lost them. They had been running that fast. Besides, she had no idea where they were either. How were they going to go back?

"You…" Jellal asked through gasps, inhaling as much air as possible to his drained lungs. "…okay?"

Erza only nodded in response, having a mental argument whether or not to thank him for saving her from a useless scandal. But thinking about it, he was saving himself too. Even though he had been in the music industry longer than her, she was more famous than him. Being the legendary singer's descendant gave her more fame than any other band or artists out there.

She didn't know she had been staring at him while she was lost in her thoughts. Erza quickly looked away but not before catching Jellal chuckle once from the corner of her eye. She rubbed the back of her neck as she looked around. They were on a deserted road with vehicles passing by occasionally. There were lush trees on either side and when she concentrated more on the nature, she could hear the soothing sound of water falling.

 _Must be a water fall._

Without asking and without looking at Jellal, she walked into the trees, knowing that he was following by the footsteps she heard. She parted the branches in her way until the trees ended leading her straight into a clearing. Grass, green, glittering because of the water droplets on them lay underneath her feet. The fresh smell of running water invaded her nostrils and she exhaled at the serenity of the place. There was a lake right before her, crystal clear and in the shape of an oval.

She pulled her sandals off and walked into the water so cold yet so soothing. The wind brushed past her, ruffling her hair and Erza heaved a sigh in contentment.

She had no idea how long she had been standing in there but a splash of cold water broke into her reverie.

"Jellal!" she let out a squeak.

A masculine laugh was the response.

"Stop!" she said in a scream when he began to splash more water at her. "You're soaking me." She tried to avoid his attacks but he was following her deeper into the lake.

"That is the point, love." Jellal laughed harder.

He watched as her top began to soak and cling to her curves so intoxicatingly. Her hair was damp as she stood thigh-deep in the water, asking him to stop.

And he did.

He stared into her chocolate eyes. There was a glimmer of happiness in them. It was barely visible. He let his hands fall to his sides and dug his feet deeper into the sand underneath him. He could stare at her all day and not get bored.

"Erza." He whispered.

He saw her eyes lit up in question and he took a step forward. The only sound being the falling water. She didn't move away, there was no hesitation in her and Jellal took it as his cue to move forward, until he was inches away. Their proximity let him feel her body heat and her suddenly ragged breaths.

"Are you okay?" he raised a hand, cupping her cheek. Emerald eyes filled with worry as they scanned her face.

"I…" She sighed and pulled back the hair that clung onto her neck. "Yeah…I'm fine." She sent him a forced smile.

Jellal didn't believe her though. His eyes wandered off from her eyes to her lips and back to her eyes. There were too many things he wanted to say, too many things he wanted to do but he had no idea how.

So, he did what he thought was best. He kissed her.

It took her by surprise at first but he tilted his head when she didn't protest, when she didn't push him away while one hand went around snaking her waist and the other running soothing circles on the nape of her neck. Her hands remained limp but he smiled into the kiss when they came to rest on his chest.

They both knew, the feelings they had ran deeper than to just end with a misunderstanding and one's stubbornness to let go. It was hard but Erza knew she couldn't live in the past forever. Holding on to the fear that he was going to come back again will only dim the light of her future. She needed to give herself a chance.

And she knew the love she had for Jellal hasn't died yet. It still burned. Very brightly and strongly. She just had it hid away in a corner, afraid that she might lose him too. But she hasn't. He had learned of her dark and ugly secret but he stayed. To help her. And asked nothing in return. He had his own share of pain and heartbreak but he still stayed with her.

And those thoughts made her return the kiss. She could feel the thousands of things he wanted to tell her through that one action.

But the memories of that horrifying night resurfaced in her mind and her heart began to race. Sweat trickled down in bullets and her head began to swirl. She pushed him away with a gasp.

"Erza…" Jellal was surprised. He recovered from the shock and took a step closer to when she began to pant.

"Don't touch me!" she said in a breathless whisper and it didn't take long for him to realize what was happening. She was reliving those moments she was most scared of, the moments she was scarred for life.

"Hey…" he didn't listen to her protests as he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "You're okay. You're fine." He whispered into her hair, arms tightening with every word.

Her breathing evened out after a while and she stopped shaking. But it wasn't enough to make him let go of her yet.

"Jellal." Erza said, trying to free herself from his grasp. "We should head back."

His arms loosened before it completely left her body. He took a step back and nodded. It was sometime around noon and he had no idea where his car was or if it was still where he left it or if it has been towed away. He could only hope that it was still there. They would have no way of returning back to the hotel if that rental disappears.

He grabbed her wrist and felt her stiffen. He loosened his grip a bit and led her out of the water. They stepped out into the road. Though the sun was still high it wasn't enough to stop the coldness of the wind making them both shiver.

"We shouldn't have gone into the water." He said as they walked back to where he remembered parking his car.

"Yeah." Erza agreed in a soft whisper.

Jellal glanced at her briefly, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face.

Finally, she was opening up.

::

 _24 hours before the announcement_

The trip ended in a blast. Everyone was still going on about how much fun they had and how they still wanted to go back and never come back. Erza just sat on a chair in the departure terminal, waiting to board the plane that will take her back to Magnolia.

Beside her, Cana was surfing through her mobile, giggling at the pictures they took. Next to her, on the other chair, Jellal sat, his head buried in his smartphone, looking casual with his ankle propped on the other leg's knee. His eyes were covered by a pair Ray ban wayfarers but she knew he kept glancing at her every once in a while. He had been trying every excuse out there all the time just to stay by her side. It was a wonder no one noticed but she knew his friends did and they were smirking secretly.

As if anything was going on between them.

Erza crossed her legs and arms and stared up ahead.

That day after they kissed, neither of them brought it up. They just went back to his car in silence and drove back to the hotel in the same manner. It was comfortable, not awkward at all. She had gone back to her room while he went to his. Neither could deny the contentment they felt.

They never talked about it after that. And now here they were, ready to fly back to their home.

Behind her, Natsu chewed loudly on some junk foods and fought with Gray ever once in a while. Gajeel would be dragged later and Laxus will very quietly demand them to 'cut it out'.

Excited chatter was the only thing that filled the walls of the airport. She didn't know what to make of this trip. It was like fate. Like something wanted her and Jellal to get back together again. They hadn't met at the most pleasant time in the most pleasant way. She had been his housekeeper then. But he still loved her. Though he misunderstood what had actually happened that night, he was willing to apologize and make it up for her. He was willing to start over.

Why was she so hesitant to give him a chance then?

He already knew the truth. But he was willing to stay beside her. What more could she ask for than someone who would overlook her flaws and deem her scars beautiful? What more did she want? What more did she need?

She loved him. Truly. From the bottom of her heart. He returned her feelings tenfold.

Everyone stood up and Cana looped an arm around hers as they walked towards the airplane.

He was the type of man she always dreamt of, always wanted. He was her ideal man. She wanted him back with her. She wanted his love. But what she so afraid of? That she might get hurt? But Jellal was going out of his way to make sure she was alright, to make sure she was safe.

Was she scared that, that night might be repeated? Was she scared that she might get hurt the same way again? Is it because she had lost trust?

 _Trust in myself._

She couldn't even bring herself to explain to him of what truly happened that night. She was too weak.

She felt so insecure.

The airplane seat was uncomfortable. But she had to deal with it until they landed.

It wasn't long before she fell into a deep sleep, Juvia's head on her shoulder.

::

The airport was filled with screaming fans when they stepped out of the arrival terminal. The security could barely hold back the crazy mob. Erza adjusted her sunglasses as she walked quickly towards the van that awaited them. Their schoolmates looked at them in envy. But she really couldn't bring herself to care about them. The spot where she was right now belonged solely to her. She worked hard for it. Everyone in Japan knew she didn't get chosen as the best vocalist out there because she was the daughter of late Nana Scarlet. Everyone except the ones who didn't want to admit it.

The heavily tinted black van drove away. She and Cana was the only one in it. Kappa and Ryusei had their own van and they were following close by.

"I am putting these photos on Instagram." She said with a huge grin and showed her them.

"I don't really mind." Erza replied with a shrug.

They came back to Fairy Entertainment after hours of driving. Erza remembered how she first came to there. And how her life changed.

"Welcome, my darlings!" Igneel wrapped his arms around both her and Cana and let go when the other artists strolled in, embracing them too.

"How was your trip?" the older man asked.

"It was awesome pops!"

"We enjoyed."

Were some of the answers she heard before she walked to one of the studio rooms.

She heard the excited chatter even behind the closed door. She wasn't jetlagged like she thought she would be. She had plenty of rest in the plane and now she was getting bored. The redhead picked up the guitar at a corner and sat back on the beanbag. Her slim and long fingers brushed on the strings once, the sound echoing through the room. She played a random piece of music that came to her mind.

Outside, she couldn't hear them talking anymore but she still kept playing. And then, a song began to form in her brilliant mind. She was surprised that it came so naturally without her having to rake her mind to find pieces that matched. Maybe this time, when she makes a comeback, she will be better than the last time.

::

Lucy was sprawled on the couch Levy was lying down reading a book. Mira was paying the piano. Juvia was taking selfies under the brightly lit light. Ultear was nowhere to be found. Mira stopped playing and stared off into space.

"Is something wrong?" Juvia asked putting her mobile into the back pocket of her denim shorts. She walked over to Mira and sat beside her.

"Say, what will happen now?" the white haired singer asked absentmindedly.

"About?" Juvia asked playing the piano while Mira had her hands on her lap. "What will happen to what?"

"To us. I have a bad feeling. We aren't how we used to be. Look at us now. Things are so different. We don't even trust our own teammates."

"Just give it some time. Everything will return back to normal." Juvia said with a small smile as she began to play a slow, sad piece.

Mira was about to say something when the door opened and Cana walked in.

"Ryusei asked if you guys wanted pizza. They were ordering."

At the sound of pizza, Lucy sat up and nodded vigorously. "Sure!" the blonde chirped.

"Yes. Order for us too." Levy said dismissively as she went back to reading.

Everyone but Mira agreed. They all turned to the white haired woman.

"If…" She started, still staring off into space. "….If Ultear hadn't done that, _if_ that didn't happen, we would still be like sisters, right?" a melancholy smile took over her face, as if she was reminiscing.

The girls all seemed to understand what she was talking and at once everyone took a sharp breath. But Cana snapped. Talking about what happened to Erza was a taboo subject for her. The overprotective mode automatically goes on.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" she demanded menacingly.

"Think about it." Mira looked up at the brunette. "Our group is falling apart. After we found out that Ultear was behind what happened to Erza, nothing was the same with us anymore. We lost the trust we had in each other."

"And I already apologized for that." Ultear said from the doorway. Her features were contorted into a hurt expression. "I don't know about you guys but I am trying to make this work between us. That is why I keep apologizing. I am trying, you know. I am trying!" her voice rose.

"If you didn't ask your bastard friend to do that in the first place none of this would have happened. We wouldn't have to be suspicious of you." It was Lucy who spoke.

Ultear turned to face her incredulously. "I didn't ask him to do that." She shouted.

"There is no need to shout, Ultear-san." Juvia said softly though there was just as much accusing in her eyes as it did in Lucy's.

"I didn't ask him to! I told him that she would be _good company_ to get his annoying ass away from me. I am telling the truth, believe me!" the dark haired woman begged.

"You knew what sort of person you friend was." Mira said in a gentle voice. "You should have known when you said that."

"I didn't know he was that sick. I didn't know okay! I didn't! I didn't know he would try to fucking rape her!"

A slap echoed through the room. Juvia and Levy gasped.

"Don't you dare say it. Don't you dare say it out loud!" Cana said through gritted teeth.

Ultear's eyes were wide. She raised a trembling hand to her cheek where the sting was so great she could feel it pulsing.

"You are as guiltier as she is." The brunette snapped at the rest of Kappa members. "Don't try to put the blame solely on her. You were there when that happened. All of you were!"

"We didn't know!" Lucy jumped in.

"Exactly!" Ultear suddenly shouted. "You didn't know. I know just as much as you did. I am apologizing so that we might go back to who we were before. But it I think it was your unwillingness to accept my apology what broke this group apart. I am done trying!"

And the, she was crying. Her lower lip trembled and she hugged herself as if she was cold.

"I tried, you know. I beat up myself every night for what happened. But do you think anything will change now? It was my fault, so? What had happened already happened. You know, if could turn back the time, I would have. If I had that power I would like to change what I said."

"You guys were like my sister. We all suffered the loss of loved ones. That was why we got along so well. Because…" she sniffed once, her voice breaking. "….we were all so lonely inside."

Cana stood still, not quite knowing what to make of what she said. There was so much sincerity in her eyes. People could make mistakes. And she was telling the truth.

"Don't pull that crap on me! You were a bitch to begin with!" Lucy lunged at her and grabbed her hair.

"Yu found yourself so high and mighty when you started to date Jellal. You got so full of yourself because you got so famous. We were nothing to you. We were just something you used to get famous, you conniving bitch."

"See! This is why this isn't working. You are not willing to accept me for who I am!" Ultear pushed Lucy away. A strand or two of Ultear's hair was in her hand.

"Stop fighting!" Mira shouted over their argument. Levy and Juvia stood back, not knowing what to do.

"Imagine how you would have felt if that happened to you. Would you be scared? On top of that, to lose the person you love the very same time. Imagine the pain!" Lucy shouted.

"Don't talk as if you know!" Ultear bellowed. "You," she looked at her through narrowed eyes that showed so much pain. "Don't know anything, Lucy."

Their argument went on and it suddenly turned physical involving pillows and hair grabbing. Next to the door, Erza stood listening, leaning against the wall. With a sigh, the redhead pushed off the wall and walked down the hallway to her own studio room.

Igneel walked in to see the girls fighting. Mira and Juvia tried to stop Lucy and Ultear who were still screaming and trying to claw each other's eyes out. Cana and Levy just stood rooted to the spot.

"Is this how you behave when no one is watching?" he bellowed and everyone froze.

The owner of the fairy Entertainment strolled in and glared at the girls. "What type of behavior is this?"

Nobody said a word.

"How long has this been going on?" he sighed after a while and asked in a softer tone.

"For…a while." Mira replied truthfully.

"What is the reason?" he inquired, crossing his arms across his chest.

Silence was the only answer he got.

"Do you know what will happen if someone saw you girls?" he asked in a gentle voice. "It could have ruined your reputation. Destroy all the hard work you have achieved. In an instant. One video!"

"Do you know there are thousands of other bands who would do anything to be in your spot? To be Japan's number one girl pop band! Do you know how much eyes are on you? To find out one flaw! One weakness to bring you girls down!"

None of them said anything.

"Are you going to continue this nonsense?" he asked in a stern voice.

The accusing glare Ultear and Lucy sent each other was his answer. They were not yet ready to reconcile. He needed to teach them their lesson. He needed them to know that not everything comes on a silver tray. He needed to show them being the country's top band isn't really the top. The title could be seized from them at any given moment if anyone were to discover that the group was not stable, that they were not on good terms, that their teamwork was no longer there.

"I see. You will thank me for this later."

He turned around to leave, taking his mobile from his pocket and dialed a number.

Within only an hour, the conference room of Fairy Entertainment was filled with reporters who had a legitimate card. The cameras flashed and the questions were bombarded on him the moment Igneel walked over to the table on the raised platform. He took a seat and greeted the reporters, politely asking them to calm down.

He adjusted the blazer of his suit and announced the news that took the whole country by shock.

"I have an important announcement to make. This is not a hasty decision. I thought on it for a long time and decided that it was for the best." Indeed, he weighed his decision for about an hour. And it was all the time he needed to come to a conclusion.

"I hereby announce the disbandment of Kappa." His eyes were firm and resolute.

There were more flashes now and the whys were thrown at him at once.

"I cannot announce the reason for their disbandment but I can assure you, Kappa will be back. But not as Kappa."

::

The members of Kappa were staring at the TV in downright horror. How could their president do that? They had two more years to their contract. This meant breach of contract, didn't it? They didn't even sign anything that would disband them.

Ultear ran out of the room. She didn't wait for the elevator to come down. She opened the emergency stairs and climbed up to the top floor. The cold night air hit her sweaty face as soon as she pushed the doors open. She bent over, holding her knees to catch her breath.

"It's my fault." Her vision began to get blurry. "It's fault." She kept panting.

The young singer walked towards the railing and looked at the endless horizon where she only saw the blinking lights of buildings and vehicles. It was a starry night. The breeze was cool but not enough to make her cold. Her hair fluttered in the wind as she stared unblinking at what was in front of her but not really seeing anything. She didn't know what to think. She didn't know what to do.

What was she _going_ to do?

Kappa was the only place she had. Now it was no longer there either. Where does she go? They have to move out of their shared apartment, right? All energy left her body and she bent over the cold railing, the round metal digging into her stomach.

Ultear sighed. She was how many floors up? She could see the passing vehicles as only colorful dots. She felt goosebumps rise just thinking about the height. But the air was nice.

She felt a presence against her and a familiar scent. Ultear didn't stand straight, she only turned her head.

"That looks fun." Erza said looking at her bent over position.

Ultear laughed dryly and turned back to stare at the bottom of the building.

"You might hate me, hell, you might even resent me, but I need you to know that…that I am sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen. I…I am sorry."

There. She said it. And now she felt a lot lighter. Like a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders. Her head was no longer throbbing.

There was silence except the sound of the wind. Ultear heard her sigh.

"I don't hate you. And I don't resent you either." The dark haired woman jolted up straight on confusion. Erza resisted the urge to chuckle at the look on her face. She looked like a lost puppy.

"It was a conclusion you came on your own." She stated with a shrug and crossed her arms across her chest. "I never blamed you for it. I never blamed anyone for it. I blamed myself. Because I was weak…something like that happened." She looked at the ground and Ultear's mouth hung open.

She saw the slight tremble in her fingers as she dug her nails into her arms. She felt her legs move on its own as if her body had a mind of its own, she wrapped her arms around the redhead. It took her by complete and utter surprise.

"You are _not_ weak. And when I say no it's saying a lot, alright. You are the strongest person I ever saw. And I have been such a bitch hating on you. Judged you the moment I saw you. Because I knew you were better than me. In every way. You were everything I could never be." It took a moment for her to realize that she was crying. Again. She sure had a lot of tears tonight.

Erza just stood there, hands by her sides as she held onto her, her body trembling against hers.

"Everyone has her own way." She brought a hand to pat her on the back while the other rested on her shoulder. "Everyone is unique in their own way. People make mistakes. It is up to us to forgive them. The one who apologize for her mistakes is the stronger one. It takes a very strong person to apologize for her mistakes. And an even stronger person to do it again. And again."

Erza continued to pat her on the back until she cried to her heart's content.

* * *

 **A/N: Please don't kill me! I have…*sigh* okay, plenty of excuses. I was just too caught up in my bleach story is all. But I didn't abandon this story. I would never!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I am on break right now so hopefully another update will be a lot quicker. Hopefully. I got six stories to update, you know. (I know, who told me to publish all those) lol.**

 **Sorry for the mistakes. I will be back to correct the them. Pinky promise! Will update Senshi no Seishin very soon too. (:**

 **Thank You ^^**

 **Ja!**


End file.
